ABSTRACT
Sport-specific physical conditioning can favourably influence injury risk when playing team sports. One general protective effect is that appropriately conditioned players are more resistant to the neuromuscular fatigue that renders athletes susceptible to injury (Hawkins et al., 2001; Murphy et al., 2003; Verral et al., 2005). The importance of this is illustrated in the common trend in many sports for higher injury rates in the latter stages of matches when players are fatigued (Best et al., 2005; Brooks et al., 2005a; Hawkins and Fuller, 1999; Hawkins et al., 2001). Participating in a preseason conditioning programme was shown to reduce by more than half the injuries sustained by female high school soccer players during the subsequent season (Heidt et al., 2000). More sport-specific metabolic conditioning appears more effective in guarding against these negative effects of neuromuscular fatigue (Verral et al., 2005). In this way, the general protective effect of metabolic conditioning regarding injury risk exhibits specificity effects.
