Study links lower preseason deceleration index to lower-quarter injuries
The study followed 114 male Division I football players across three seasons and found lower preseason deceleration-index values among athletes who later sustained time-loss lower-quarter injuries than among position-matched uninjured players. The authors said the association did not establish causation, and the proposed threshold required independent validation.
A prospective cohort study published Nov. 1 in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy found lower preseason deceleration-index values among male Division I collegiate football players who later sustained non-contact, time-loss lower-quarter injuries. Researchers compared 57 injured players with 57 position-matched uninjured players, using preseason tests and injury surveillance across three seasons.1
Mean scores were 0.90 in the injured group and 1.10 in the uninjured group, a statistically significant difference, the study reported. The paper reported good within-sample discrimination, but said its proposed 1.00 cutoff had not been externally validated and was not a universal diagnostic threshold.1
The authors said the results were specific to male collegiate football athletes and that their generalizability to other sports or competitive levels was unknown. They said the index may complement multifactorial risk assessment, but should not be used alone to clear athletes or predict injuries.1
