Psychosocial predictors and psychological prevention of soccer injuries: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies and intervention trials
PubMed 29776844 · doi:10.1016/j.ptsp.2018.05.006
What was done
Authors conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis by searching PubMed/MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and Scopus up to January 1, 2017, supplemented by reference checking. The review examined psychosocial risk factors and psychological prevention interventions for soccer injuries across 13 eligible studies comprising 1,149 injured soccer players aged 14–36 years.
What was found
Personality traits (trait anxiety, perceived mastery climate) and stressors (negative-life-event stress, high life stress, daily hassles, and previous injury) predicted higher soccer injury rates. Psychological-based interventions significantly reduced injury rates in senior soccer players (effect size = 0.96; 95% CI 0.34–1.58; p = 0.002).
Why it matters
It demonstrates that psychological strategies (e.g., mindfulness, imagery, stress management, relaxation) can measurably lower injury risk in soccer players in addition to physical conditioning.
Limits
The total sample across 13 studies was modest (1,149 injured players), and the confidence interval for intervention effect size was broad (0.34 to 1.58). The abstract does not distinguish the proportion of randomized versus non-randomized intervention designs, nor does it provide quantitative effect sizes for the individual psychosocial risk factors.
Cited by
- supports Psychological stress increases injury risk and compromises athletic training performance.