Comparison of external and internal Focus of Attention During ACL Injury Prevention Exercises on dynamic postural stability in Soccer Players

Weakness in dynamic stability is one of the most important risk factors for knee ligaments, including ACL. in ACL injury prevention program, there are two types of instruction including internal focus (IF) and external focus (EF) of attention. According to literature, using an EF can result in better motor performance and movement technique over time in comparison with an IF of attention. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of focus of attention during ۸-weeks of PEP program on dynamic postural stability during landing.۳۵ young football players from the three clubs of Tehran Premier League were randomly divided into three groups: external focus (n=۱۲), internal focus (n =۱۲) and control group (n= ۱۱).The training groups performed pep injury prevention exercises for ۸weeks and related instructions instead of warm-up exercises. Before and after the ۸-week intervention of EF and IF groups, players performed a jump landing task on the force plate from a ۳۰-cm-high box during which was measured anterior-posterior stability index (APSI), medio-lateral stability index (MLSI), vertical stability index (VSI) and dynamic postural stability index (DPSI) variables. To evaluate the effect of focus of attention on postural stability index variables, repeated-measures ANOVA, one way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc tests were used.Significant time-by-group interaction effects were found for VSI (P = ۰.۰۳۵) and DPSI (P = ۰.۰۳۶). Although The results of one-way ANOVA test showed no significant different between three groups in pre-test, there was significant different in VSI (P=۰.۰۴۳) and DPSI (P=۰.۰۴۶) between EF and control group in post-test. The EF group showed higher decreases in VSI and DPSI after the ۸-week intervention compared with the other ۲ groups.The results show that EF during PEP improves dynamic stability more than IF. Therefore, EF during PEP instructions is preferred to increase the effectiveness of this injury prevention program.

کلیدواژه ها:

External focus ، internal focus ، injury prevention ، Postural Stability