Return to play after treating acute muscle injuries in elite football players with a multimodal therapy approach that includes a specific protocol of (almost) daily radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy

Abstract

Aim: To compare lay-off times achieved by treating acute muscle injuries in elite football players with a multimodal therapy approach that includes a specific protocol of almost daily radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT)) with corresponding data reported in the literature. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of treatments and recovery times of muscle injuries suffered by the players of an elite football team competing in the first/second German Bundesliga during one of the previous seasons. Results: A total of 20 acute muscle injuries were investigated in the aforementioned season, of which eight (40%) were diagnosed as type 1a/muscular tightness injuries, five (25%) as type 2b/muscle strain injuries, four (20%) as type 3a/partial muscle tear injuries and three (15%) as contusions. All injuries were treated with the previously mentioned multimodal therapy approach. Compared with data reported by Ekstrand et al. (Br J Sports Med 2013;47:769-774), lay-off times (median / mean) were shortened by 54% and 58% respectively in the case of type 1a injuries, by 50% and 55% respectively in the case of type 2b injuries as well as by 8% and 21% respectively in the case of type 3a injuries. No adverse reactions were observed. Conclusions: Overall, the multimodal therapy approach investigated in this study is a safe and effective treatment approach for treating type 1a and 2b acute muscle injuries amongst elite football players and may help to prevent more severe, structural muscle injuries.