A Position-Specific, Time-Efficient Warm-Up Injury Prevention Program in Male Football Players: A Season-Long Intervention Study

This study assessed the effectiveness of a position-specific and time-efficient warm-up injury prevention program for male football players. This season-long quasi-experimental study included 129 male amateur football players. A structured injury prevention program was incorporated into the warm-up routine during the preseason and competitive season. Prospectively collected injury data from the intervention season were compared with retrospectively collected injury data from the previous season and included injury incidence, the number of injured players, injury severity, and injury burden. The program included general exercises and position-specific modifications for defenders, midfielders, and attackers. Implementation of the program was associated with a 60% reduction in total injuries (p < 0.05) and a 60.3% reduction in total injured players The injury burden was significantly reduced (p < 0.05), as indicated by a reduced mean day lost per injury from 33.24 to 19.56 days. Although injury reductions were observed across all playing positions, between-position differences were not statistically significant. The type of injuries and their mechanisms were not significantly affected. These preliminary, associative findings suggest that a time-efficient, position-specific warm-up program may contribute to reduced injury occurrence in amateur football; however, given the quasi-experimental design, confirmation through randomized controlled trials is required.