Is Plantar Loading Altered During Repeated Sprints on Artificial Turf in International Football Players?

Olivier Girard (1, 2) , Grégoire P. Millet (3) , Athol Thomson (1, 4) , Franck Brocherie (5)

1 School of Psychology and Exercise Science
2 ASPETAR Research and Education Centre
3 ISSUL - Institute of Sport Sciences of University of Lausanne
4 University of Ulster
5 SEP (EA7370) - French Institute of Sport (INSEP), Laboratory Sport, Expertise and Performance (EA7370)

We compared fatigue-induced changes in plantar loading during the repeated anaerobic sprint test over two distinct distance intervals. Twelve international male football outfield players (Qatar Football Association) completed 6 × 35-m sprints (10 s of active recovery) on artificial turf with their football boots. Insole plantar pressure distribution was continuously recorded and values (whole foot and under 9 foot zones) subsequently averaged and compared over two distinct distance intervals (0-17.5 m vs. 17.5-35 m). Sprint times increased (p < 0.001) from the first (4.87 ± 0.13 s) to the last (5.63 ± 0.31 s) repetition, independently of the distance interval. Contact area (150 ± 23 vs. 158 ± 19 cm 2 ;-5.8 ± 9.1%; p = 0.032), maximum force (1910 ± 559 vs. 2211 ± 613 N;-16.9 ± 18.2%; p = 0.005) and mean pressure (154 ± 41 vs. 172 ± 37 kPa;-13.9 ± 19.0%; p = 0.033) for the whole foot were lower at 0-17.5 m vs. 17.5-35 m, irrespectively of sprint number. There were no main effects of sprint number or any significant interactions for any plantar variables of the whole foot. The distance interval × sprint number × foot region interaction on relative loads was not significant. Neither distance interval nor fatigue modified plantar pressure distribution patterns. Fatigue led to a decrement in sprint time but no significant change in plantar pressure distribution patterns across sprint repetitions.

Mots clés: team sports; distance interval; Repeated-sprint ability; plantar loading; pressure dis- tribution patterns

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société; Sport; Physiologie du sport

Olivier Girard, Grégoire P. Millet, Athol Thomson, Franck Brocherie. Is Plantar Loading Altered During Repeated Sprints on Artificial Turf in International Football Players?. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 2018, 17, pp.359-365. ⟨hal-02134185⟩