A systematic review and meta-analysis of various injury prevention programs in youth soccer players

Background: Considering injuries as a serious problem which affects player availability and performance, soccer clubs have strong incentives to develop and implement various injury prevention programs (IPPs). The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine, consolidate and summarize the research on the effects of various IPPs on injury incidence in youth soccer players. Methods: A search was conducted in Cochrane Library, PubMed (MEDLINE), Scopus and Web of Science. A total of 3827 records were identified through database searches which were filtered to 19 studies that met the selection and inclusion criteria. The search was concluded in December 2024. A methodological quality scale was also employed as a valuable tool to assess the risk of bias in the selected studies. Results: A total sample of 28,200 youth soccer players were analyzed in the included studies. 12 studies reported positive effects of the IPP on overall injury incidence, while four studies found no significant effects. Moreover, most studies showed increasing effectiveness with higher adherence or compliance. Overall, injury prevention programs were shown to significantly decrease the likelihood of injury (RR = 0.615 [95% CI = 0.512; 0.739]; z = -5.20; p < 0.001). Subgroup analyses conducted for age (Q (1) = 2.84, p = 0.092), duration of intervention (Q (1) = 1.87, p = 0.172), type of injury prevention program (Q (1) = 0.00, p = 0.955) did not reveal significant differences in injury incidence, suggesting that the overall effect of injury prevention programs is not significantly influenced by these factors. Conclusions: This systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that different injury prevention programs are likely effective in reducing injury risk and lowering the injuries among youth soccer players, suggesting their potential protective effect in injury prevention.