Introduction:
Despite significant high-tech developments, there is a lack of unanimity for choosing the most appropriate variables for quantifying the short-term dose-response relationship and specifically informing on the “stress” experience by each individual player in elite soccer. This stress results in acute (less than 3 h post-match) and residual (still evident up to 72 h post-match) fatigue-induced a decrease in performance. However, the relationship between match external load metrics and markers of post-soccer-match fatigue remains unclear with conflicting results in the literature.
“There is a lack of unanimity for choosing the most appropriate variables for quantifying the short-term dose-response relationship”
Purpose:
Determine which external load metrics during a soccer match-play more effectively reflect the acute and residual changes in post-match muscle damage and neuromuscular and perceptual responses.
Method:
Figure 1. PRISMA flow chart
Results:
- Acute (r = 0.67) and residual (r = 0.54) changes in muscle damage markers and CMJ peak power output were largely correlated with running distance above 5.5 m/s (Fig. 2).
- No other external load metric was largely correlated with both biochemical and neuromuscular markers.
- For every 100-m run above 5.5 m/s, CK activity measured 24h post-match increased by 30% and CM peak power output decreased by 0.5%.
- The total distance covered did not present any evidence of a clear relationship with any fatigue-related marker at any time-point.
Figure 2. Relationship between match-related running distance above 5.5 m/s and post-match changes in CK.
Take home message:
- Although total distance covered is one of the most used parameters, professionals should mainly consider “very high intensity running” distance (5.5m/s or 19.8 km/h) as a crucial variable (i.e., strongest predictor of alterations in muscle damage and peak power output) for managing external load during a match.
“Practitioners should mainly consider “very high intensity running” distance (5.5m/s or 19.8 km/h) as a crucial variable”
- Added to this, monitor other parameters, which are strongest predictors, such as acceleration, deceleration and impacts (>3g) will be of great importance to quantify individual physical load and response (Gastin et al., 2019).
