Retention of Movement Pattern Changes After a Lower Extremity Injury Prevention Program Is Affected by Program Duration

Background: Changes in movement patterns have been repeatedly observed immediately after completing a lower extremity injury prevention program. However, it is not known if movement pattern changes are maintained after discontinuing the training program. Hypothesis: The ability to maintain movement pattern changes after training has ceased may be influenced by the program's duration. The authors hypothesized that among individuals who completed either a 3-month or 9-month training program and who demonstrated immediate movement pattern changes, only those who completed the 9-month training program would maintain movement pattern changes after a 3-month period of no longer performing the exercises. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. Methods: A total of 140 youth soccer athletes from 15 separate teams volunteered to participate. Athletes' movement patterns were assessed using the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) at pretest, posttest, and 3 months after ceasing the program (retention test). Eighty-four of the original 140 participants demonstrated improvements in their LESS scores between pretest and posttest (change in LESS score >0) and were included in the final analyses for this study (n = 84; 20 boys and 64 girls; mean age, 14 +/- 2 years; age range, 11-17 years). Teams performed 3-month (short-duration group) and 9-month (extended-duration group) injury prevention programs. The exercises performed were identical for both groups. Teams performed the programs as part of their normal warm-up routine. Results: Although both groups improved their total LESS scores from pretest to posttest, only the extended-duration training group retained their improvements 3 months after ceasing the injury prevention program (F-2,F-137 = 3.38; P = .04). Conclusion: Results suggest that training duration may be an important factor to consider when designing injury prevention programs that facilitate long-term changes in movement control.