A session-by-session analysis of psychological and external workload demands prior to muscle-tendon injuries in Brazilian professional soccer players: a pilot study.

Abstract

This study aimed to compare the psychological demands and external workload experienced in the seven sessions leading up to injuries and the demands in the month preceding the injury week among professional Brazilian soccer players. Initially, 33 players participated, but only 15 were included in the analysis due to the occurrence of 23 muscle-tendon injuries recorded according to International Olympic Committee (IOC) guidelines. The study assessed muscle-tendon injuries, rate of perceived exertion (RPE), and psychological variables (i.e. mental load, motivation, and mental fatigue) using specific questionnaires, while weekly accumulated workload (i.e. total distance, high-speed running distance, sprint running distance, number of sprints, and actions accelerating and decelerating) was recorded using Global Position System devices. The results indicated that players experienced higher external loads, particularly in high-intensity running variables, along with increased mental load and mental fatigue during the match prior to injury occurrence (<i>p</i> < 0.05). These findings highlight the significance of carefully monitoring both external and psychological demands during competition, which is essential for developing effective recovery strategies and modulate the subsequent microcycle training loads in order to reduce the risk of suffer a muscle-tendon injury.