CRYSC Athletes Participate In Topical Gear ACL Study
Posted by: Julie Graves | Head Athletic Trainer
Overview
Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club was involved in a 15-team, preventative ACL Study with the T:25 Knee Sleeve from Topical Gear and Mike Decker, biomechanist for the study. Mike and his team worked to measure results that show changes in speed, power, and movement, related to preventive use of the T:25 Knee Sleeve.
As a thank you to CRYSC members for the Club’s involvement in the study, Topical Gear are offering an exclusive discount on the T:25 Knee Sleeve, Pro Taco, and Thin Guards through this link. Preventative care is vital to the health and safety of youth athletes. Partnering in this study with Topical Gear furthers the Club’s longstanding goal of growing health and safety resources in Colorado. Topical Gear products have been endorsed by Rapids Youth Head Athletic Trainer, Julie Graves, as a way to both prevent injury and improve athletic performance.
Study
In summer of 2018, researchers began a project involving 261 Rapids Youth Soccer athletes in the ECNL and Competitive programs. The participants were divided into four groups: No training program (5 teams; n=88), Training only (6 teams; n=99), Wearable only (2 teams; n=40), Training and Wearable (2 teams, n=34).
Results
- Speed improved 2.2% for Training group, 3.4% for Training and Wearable group.
Compared to the No Training group, improvements in speed were 3.0 and 4.8
times greater for the Training group and the Training and Wearable group,
respectively. - Power improved 32% for Training group, 28% for Wearable group, 34% for
Training and Wearable group. Compared to the No Training group, improvements
in power were 1.4, 1.2 and 1.6 times greater for the Training, Wearable and
Training with Wearable groups, respectively. - Movement quality improved on average 9.2% for Wearable group, 10.1% for
Training group, and 12.0% for Training and Wearable group. Younger athletes
(11-12 y) demonstrated improvements 3.2 times the group mean score, older
athletes (17-18 y) demonstrated improvements of 0.5 times the group mean
score. - 41 injuries were found for the group of female athletes. 85% of injuries occurred
in the lower extremity. Injury risk and risk reduction are still being determined
through July 1, 2019, but no knee injuries have been found for the athletes in the
Training and Wearable group.
Find out more about the CRYSC Sports Medicine Program by visiting our website. For any question or concerns related to chronic back pain, sports medicine, or athletic training, please reach out to the CRYSC Head Athletic Trainer, Julie Graves, at [email protected].
