Intervention for Prevention of Enthesopathy among Junior High School Soccer Players

The purpose of this study was to examine the transition with time of enthesopathy and the effect of guided stretching, in order to search for the possibility of physical intervention to prevent sports injury during the growth period. The subjects were 81 male soccer players who played in the extramural soccer team. They were divided into two groups: 13 who had experienced enthesopathy problems and a group of 68 who had not. Measurements were taken before and after intervention and were measurements of muscle tightness and alignment, etc. In all subjects, a significant improvement was found in tightness of the bilateral hamstrings and left quadriceps. However, when the results of subjects belonging to the group which had enthesopathy before intervention were compared, significant reinforcement of tightness of the right ilio-psoas was found. The reason for this is considered to be because the intervention method was inadequate. This suggests the importance of individual guidance, and especially confirmation of enforcement and guidance over time for players who have enthesopathy.