Objective: Female soccer players have an increased risk of knee injuries. Functional tests are used to evaluate global knee function after injury and/or surgery. The aims of this study were to characterize functional performance in female soccer players using four selected functional performance tests and to evaluate the effects of a specific injury prevention programme. Methods: Ninety-nine female soccer players were divided into an intervention group (n=53) and controls (n=46). Both groups performed four functional performance tests at baseline and were retested at three months` follow-up. Only the intervention group was educated in knee injury prevention and given a prevention programme including three exercises recommended twice a week. Results: At follow-up the intervention group had significantly better results in the single leg sit-to-stand test (right leg 27 ± 7.7 vs. 31 ± 7 .0; left leg 28 ± 7.0 vs. 30 ± 16.8) than the controls (right leg 25 ± 5.6 vs. 26 ± 6.6; left leg 24 ± 6.0 vs. 25±6.0); p=0.001; p<0.0001, respectively. The intervention group also had significantly improved results in single-leg hop for distance in both legs from baseline (right leg: 116 ± 15.2 cm; left leg: 118 ± 14.2 cm) to follow-up (right leg: 121 ± 14.4 cm; left leg: 122 ± 15.8 cm); p=0.03; p=0.02, respectively. Conclusion: This brief injury prevention programme seemed to improve muscular strength and endurance in the lower extremities of female soccer players when performed for three months and evaluated on four selected functional tests.
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