The knee control prevention programme

• In 2008, the Swedish Football Association and the insurance company Folksam, where all licensed players are insured, initiated a project aiming to reduce the burden of severe knee injuries in Swedish football. As a first step, the efficacy of an injury prevention exercise programme (IPEP) was evaluated in girls’ adolescent football (12–17 years). In a large-scale cluster randomised controlled trial including more than 4500 players, the Knee Control programme, a simple low-cost IPEP that takes no more than 10–15 min to complete, was found to reduce the rate of anterior cruciate ligament injury by 64%. Compliance with the IPEP is key, with large injury rate reductions seen in the most diligent players, whereas in players who only used the programme sporadically, it had no preventive effect. In this chapter some of the experiences from the Knee Control injury prevention initiative are summarised, including the evaluation of the programme’s preventive efficacy, performance effects and the implementation efforts made in Swedish football.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Idrottsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Sport and Fitness Sciences (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Ortopedi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Orthopaedics (hsv//eng)

Publication and Content Type

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