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Collagen supplementation augments changes in patellar tendon properties in female soccer players. [Dataset]

Contributors

Joonsung Lee
Data Collector

Josh E. Bridge
Data Collector

Claire E. Stewart
Data Collector

Robert M. Erskine
Data Collector

Abstract

Soft tissue injury (including collagenous tissues, such as skeletal muscle, tendon and ligament) is the most common injury type in women's soccer, and is two-to-five times more common in female than in male soccer players. Indeed, female players suffer a higher proportion of quadriceps muscle strains, knee ligament injuries and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures than male players. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to compare the effect of 10 weeks' soccer training (incorporating strength-, plyometric- and pitch-based training) with or without collagen supplementation on changes in patellar tendon properties in female soccer players. We hypothesized that 30g collagen hydrolysate and 500 mg vitamin C ingested immediately after each training session (three times per week) would confer changes in patellar tendon mechanical and material properties compared to no changes following soccer training alone. As strength training with collagen supplementation has recently been shown to enhance fat-free mass in healthy young men, a secondary aim was to investigate the effect of soccer training and collagen supplementation on vastus lateralis muscle thickness and subcutaneous adipose tissue thickness. In conclusion, 10 weeks' in-season soccer training (incorporating bodyweight lower-limb strength and plyometric training), supplemented with 30g collagen hydrolysate (and 500 mg vitamin C) three times a week, conferred greater gains in patellar tendon stiffness and Young's modulus compared to soccer training alone in a FA Women's Super League Under 21s squad. These novel findings have significant implications for sport science support in female soccer players. Future studies should investigate if collagen supplementation can improve specific aspects of female soccer performance requiring rapid transference of force, and if it can help mitigate injury risk in this under-researched population.

Citation

LEE, J., BRIDGE, J.E., CLARK, D.R., STEWART, C.E. and ERSKINE, R.M. 2023. Collagen supplementation augments changes in patellar tendon properties in female soccer players. [Dataset]. Frontiers in physiology [online], 14, article number 1089971. Available from: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1089971/full#supplementary-material

Acceptance Date Jan 11, 2023
Online Publication Date Jan 26, 2023
Publication Date Dec 31, 2023
Deposit Date Dec 5, 2023
Publicly Available Date Dec 5, 2023
Publisher Frontiers Media
DOI https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1089971
Keywords Football (soccer); Vitamin C (ascorbate); Resistance training (strength); Young's modulus (elastic modulus); Elite
Public URL https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2166303
Related Public URLs https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2056631 (Journal article)
Type of Data PDF, MP4 and four DOCX files.
Collection Date Dec 31, 2021
Collection Method The study recruited high-level female soccer players from the 'Under 21s' squad of a Football Association (FA) Women's Super League Academy Club and the study design was a single-blind, randomized controlled trial. Due to the study taking place during the national lockdown associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the lead researcher was required to be unblinded to participant group allocation (collagen, COL, or placebo, PLA) from the outset of the study. This was to ensure the correct supplements were consumed by the participants (due to a national lockdown, no other researchers or technicians were available to prepare the supplements). Crucially, however, all participants were blinded to group allocation, plus the strength and conditioning coaches responsible for undertaking all training sessions were blinded to participant group allocation. All participants attended the laboratory for muscle-tendon assessments before and after 10 weeks' soccer training. The training took place during the 2020–21 in-season and comprised a combination of lower-limb plyometric, bodyweight strength and pitch-based soccer training. All muscle-tendon measurements were performed on the right leg in the following order: maximal isometric and isokinetic strength of the knee extensors and flexors (antagonist muscle activation was measured using surface electromyography [EMG]), thickness of the vastus lateralis (VL) muscle and its subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), and morphological, mechanical and material properties of the patellar tendon were measured via a combination of ultrasonography and isokinetic dynamometry (IKD). All tests took place between 09:00 and 17:00 and the pre/post-training tests were performed at the same time of day for each participant to avoid potential diurnal effects on intra-individual pre/post-training changes. Further, participants were instructed not to participate in strenuous physical activity, not to consume alcohol or caffeine in the 24 h prior to testing. Due to the busy training and match schedule during in-season, staggered testing was performed within 2 weeks. Participants were then pair-matched according to age, height, body mass, maximum knee extensor strength and use (or not) of hormonal contraception, and then randomly assigned to one of two groups (COL or PLA) using block randomization. Participants were instructed to ingest their respective supplement three times a week with training for the 10-week period. Each participant completed all 30 training sessions, and ingested all of their 30 respective supplements (supervised by a member of the research team). Post-training assessments were performed within three-to-five days after the final supplemented training session.

Files

LEE 2023 Collagen supplementation (DATA) (7.9 Mb)
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Publisher Licence URL
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
© 2023 Lee, Bridge, Clark, Stewart and Erskine. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.





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