Influence of a football match on landing biomechanics and jump performance in female football players

This study aimed to assess the acute effect of a competitive football match on jump performance and kinematic parameters during jump landing in semiprofessional female football players. Twenty-two semiprofessional players (20 +/- 3 years) underwent a drop jump task for a posterior video analysis of the landing phase. These measurements were obtained at (1) baseline, (2) after, and (3) 48 h after a competitive football match. A one-way ANOVA with repeated measures was employed to detect differences over the time. There was a main effect of time for maximal knee flexion angle during drop landing (p = 0.001). In comparison with baseline, maximal knee flexion angle was reduced immediately post-match and was still reduced 48 h after the match (63.4 +/- 8.6 vs 57.0 +/- 11.7 vs 48.9 +/- 19.1, p <= 0.038). There was also a main effect of time for drop jump height (p < 0.001). Drop jump height was reduced immediately post-match and remained low 48 h after the match in comparison with baseline (27.3 +/- 3.6 vs 24.5 +/- 2.8 similar to 25.5 +/- 3.0 cm, p <= 0.002). There was a main effect of time on hip flexion angle during landing (p = 0.001), but the pairwise comparison revealed that this variable was not affected immediately post-match but was lower 48 h after the match than at baseline (50.1 +/- 10.1 similar to 50.8 +/- 13.2 vs 38.1 +/- 17.8 degrees, p <= 0.005). A competitive football match worsened jump performance and several landing biomechanical parameters in female football players, which were still decreased in comparison with baseline even 48 h after the match.