Recovery of Powerful Kick Biomechanics After Intense Running Fatigue in Male and Female Soccer Players

Background: fatigue seems to have a significant effect on soccer kick performance. however,the duration of these effects has not been previously investigated. objectives: the purpose of the present study was to investigate the duration of the acute effects of fatigue on soccer kick performance in males and females. patients and methods: ten male (age: 26.3 ± 4.9 years,height: 178.1 ± 5.1 cm,mass: 81.3 ± 8.1 kg) and ten female (age: 24.4 ± 4.2 years,height: 169.7 ± 5.7 cm,mass: 61.8 ± 5.1 kg) amateur soccer players performed three instep kicks prior to and after running on a treadmill till exhaustion. three-dimensional kinematics were collected pre- and post-fatigue. results: analysis of variance indicated a statistically significant decline in ball speed during the first and the second trial after fatigue (p < 0.05),but recovered to pre-fatigue levels during the third post-fatigue kicking trial (p > 0.05). similarly,maximum ankle,knee and hip linear velocity and ankle angular displacement were significantly lower during the first two trials (p < 0.05),but not during the third trial after fatigue (p > 0.05). conclusions: soccer kick parameters recovered to pre-fatigue levels approximately within a minute after the end of the protocol. these findings have a practical meaning for players who have to perform set piece kicks under fatigue conditions and for coaches who have to guide their players.