Mechanical properties of rectus femoris muscle in professional footballers from start to mid-season

Warner, Martin, Mullix, James, Gimpel, Mo and Stokes, Maria (2013) Mechanical properties of rectus femoris muscle in professional footballers from start to mid-season. 18th Annual Congress of the European College of Sports Science, Barcelona, Spain. 25 - 28 Jun 2013.

Abstract

Quadriceps’ strain is the second most common injury in football players, accounting for 5% of all injuries (Ekstrand et al., 2011). Musculoskeletal screening tests are important to help avoid overtraining and injury (Gabbe et al., 2004). However, measurements of muscle are often made using subjective palpation and observational techniques. Novel technology enables objective measurement of tone and mechanical properties of muscle using a hand-held device (MyotonPRO), and has recently been used to examine thigh muscles in young males (Mullix et al., 2012). The present study aimed to quantify the stability of mechanical properties of the rectus femoris (RF) muscle in professional football players from start to mid-season. Nine English Premier League male football players (aged 22-30 years) were studied at the start and mid-way through the season. The MyotonPRO device (Myoton Ltd, London) applied brief mechanical impulses to the resting RF muscle belly on the dominant side, eliciting damped oscillations, which were recorded via the device’s accelerometer. Parameters of non-neural tone (frequency), elasticity (logarithmic decrement) and stiffness (N/m) were calculated automatically. None of the participants suffered an injury during the study period. A paired-samples T-test assessed for statistical differences between the two testing sessions. There were no significant differences in the mechanical parameters tested between the start and mid-season (p>0.05; tone 15.9±0.6 to 15.6±0.7 Hz; stiffness 277.7±11.4 to 283.3±15.7 N/m; elasticity 1.3±0.1 to 1.3±0.2 decrement). On average there was only a -0.5% change in muscle tone, 3.4% in stiffness, with an 8.3% change in elasticity. These preliminary data suggest that the mechanical properties of the RF muscle remained constant during the first-half of a football season in players that had not suffered an injury. Monitoring changes in these parameters over the course of a season may provide an indication of injury risk. Further studies are warranted to develop large databases of normal reference values in professional footballers and to document abnormal parameters in injured muscles.

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Contributors

Author: Martin Warner

Author: Maria Stokes

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