Injury Prevention Programs That Include Balance Training Exercises Reduce Ankle Injury Rates among Soccer Players: a Systematic Review.

QUESTION:What is the effect of injury prevention programs that include balance training exercises on the incidence of ankle injuries among soccer players?DESIGN:Systematic review of randomised trials with meta-analysis.PARTICIPANTS:Soccer players of any age, sex or competition level.INTERVENTIONS:The experimental intervention was an injury prevention program that included balance training exercises. The control intervention was the soccer team's usual warm-up program.OUTCOME MEASURES:Exposure-based ankle injury rates.RESULTS:Nine articles met the inclusion criteria. The pooled results of injury prevention programs that included balance training exercises among 4,959 soccer players showed a 36% reduction in ankle injury per 1,000 hours of exposure compared to the control group with an injury risk ratio (IRR) of 0.64 (95% CI 0.54 to 0.77). The pooled results of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) injury prevention programs caused a 37% reduction in ankle injury (IRR 0.63, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.84) and balance-training exercises alone cause a 42% reduction in ankle injury (IRR 0.58, 95% CI 0.41 to 0.84).CONCLUSIONS:This meta-analysis demonstrates that balance exercises alone or as part of an injury prevention program decrease the risk of ankle injuries. PROSPERO CRD42017054450.