Football is one of the most popular team sports in the world. Women's football has a much shorter history than men's football, but in recent years it has been considered one of the fastest growing sports in the world. Since it is a contact sport, the risk of injury is high. The most common injuries are injuries of the lower extremities (hip, knee and ankle). This is why special attention must be paid to quality training and fitness to reduce the risk of injury with the increasing workload on players. Physical condition in modern football is one of the key factors for the team's success.
The purpose of the master's thesis was to determine whether hip strength affects possible later injuries in female football players, based on measuring isometric strength of abduction and adduction muscles and internal and external hip rotators. The analysis included all players of the first Slovenian women's football league who voluntarily decided to be tested. The influence of hip muscle strength on injuries was studied using a purpose-built isometric resistance device, which allows testing of isometric hip muscle strength in different leg and torso positions.
When analyzing the results, we found that body position has a significant impact on isometric strength testing. In female soccer players without chronic injuries, we observed higher isometric strength values in most movement tasks. The results also show a statistically significant difference in isometric strength in most movement tasks between female soccer players with acute injuries and those without them. During the study, we did not show significant differences in the ratio of isometric strength between the left and right leg and between adductors and abductors, regardless of body position. Based on this, we can conclude that acute injuries do not affect the ratio of strength between the left and right leg or between adductors and abductors. The results of the analysis of the predictive power of the isometric strength test of hip adductors and abductors in the supine position with legs extended showed that the test is not suitable for predicting injuries in female soccer players, as it has a very low discriminatory ability. This finding applies to both acute and chronic injuries.
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