Association of the acute:chronic workload ratio and incidence of injury in premier league, male hockey players

Abstract

The relationship between acute:chronic workload ratios and incidence of injury as well as the relationship between subjective wellness and training load is unclear in premier league male hockey players. This study investigated these relationships to determine if the acute:chronic workload ratio is a useful injury prevention marker and workload management tool for field hockey players. This study also investigated the association between subjective wellness scores (fatigue, sleep quality, general muscle soreness, mood and stress level) and the acute:chronic workload ratio and the session rating of perceived exertion. Fourteen, male field hockey players from the men’s first team at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg participated in the study and during ten weeks of premier league, competition phase. A Google form was completed within thirty minutes of every training session or match. The Google form consisted of questions that allowed for the calculation of the ACWR. No incidence of injury was reported during the ten-week period and the ACWR scores ranged between 0.67 and 1.87. In addition, it was found that the ACWR was associated with general muscle soreness (p = 0.010) and sRPE was associated to fatigue (p = 0.004), sleep quality (p = 0.035) and general muscle soreness (p < 0.001). The study did not find an association between the ACWR and injury incidence in this sample of hockey players, yet associations were found between some wellness scores and ACWR and SRPE. Therefore, there may be some merit in the use of subjective wellness measures as workload management tools in field hockey, but further studies are required to find an optimal ACWR for this sport.