Effects of an 8-Week Injury Prevention Program on Lower Limb Performance in Female Athletes Quasi-Experimental Evidence

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to evaluate whether an 8-week sports injury prevention program can improve lower-body performance such as power, agility, and balance among female college athletes in Saudi Arabia. Female athletes often use injury-prevention programs designed for men, which may not address their specific physical and biomechanical needs. This study seeks to determine if a tailored program can reduce injury risk and enhance athletic performance for women aged 18 to 35 years who have been training and competing for at least one year. Participants will take part in supervised injury-prevention sessions lasting eight weeks. Each session includes warm-up drills like jogging and shuttle runs, stretching major lower-body muscles, strength training exercises such as lunges and hamstring work, plyometric drills involving jumping and bounding, balance exercises on one leg, agility drills with directional running, and cool-down stretching and core exercises. The program follows a standardized approach to improve strength, stability, coordination, and movement control. Before and after the program, participants will complete tests measuring jumping power, multi-directional agility, and dynamic balance, which are common assessments in sports medicine to identify injury risk and measure physical improvements. The study will assess changes in lower-extremity functional performance, explosive power, and balance over the eight-week period. Participants are expected to provide informed consent and complete all assessments, with safety monitored throughout the study period ending in March 2026.

Eight-week Sports Injury Prevention Program