Strategies for injury prevention in Brazilian football: Perceptions of physiotherapists and practices of premier league teams

Abstract Objectives To describe the physiotherapists perceptions and the current practices for injury prevention in elite football (soccer) clubs in Brazil. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Group of Science in Sports & Exercise, Federal University of Healthy Sciences of Porto Alegre (Brazil). Participants 16 of the 20 football clubs involved in the Brazilian premier league 2015. Main outcome measures Physiotherapists answered a structured questionnaire. Results Most physiotherapists (∼88%) were active in design, testing and application of prevention programs. Previous injury, muscle imbalance, fatigue, hydration, fitness, diet, sleep/rest and age were considered "very important" or "important" injury risk factors by all respondents. The methods most commonly used to detect athletes' injury risk were: monitoring of biochemical markers (100% of teams), isokinetic dynamometry (81%), questionnaires (75%), functional movement screen (56%), fleximetry (56%) and horizontal jump tests (50%). All clubs used strength training, functional training, core exercises and balance/proprioception exercises in their injury prevention program; and Nordic hamstring exercise and other eccentric exercises were used by 94% of clubs. "FIFA 11+" prevention program was adapted by 88% of clubs. Conclusion Physiotherapists perceptions and current practices of injury prevention within Brazilian elite football clubs were similar to those employed in developed countries. There remains a gap between clinical practice and scientific evidence in high performance football.