Greater Association of Relative Thresholds Than Absolute Thresholds With Noncontact Lower-Body Injury in Professional Australian Rules Footballers: Implications for Sprint Monitoring.

Unlabelled: Sprint capacity is an important attribute for team-sport athletes, yet the most appropriate method to analyze it is unclear.

Purpose: To examine the relationship between sprint workloads using relative versus absolute thresholds and lower-body soft-tissue and bone-stress injury incidence in professional Australian rules football.

Methods: Fifty-three professional Australian rules football athletes' noncontact soft-tissue and bone-stress lower-body injuries (N = 62) were recorded, and sprint workloads were quantified over ∼18 months using the global positioning system.