
Tim MeyerSaarland University | UKS
Tim Meyer
Prof. Dr. med.
Med Director Institute of Sports and Prev Med, Saarland Uni
EiC of JSAMS and Sci Med Football
About
552
Publications
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Introduction
Additional affiliations
October 2008 - June 2015
February 2007 - September 2008
October 2008 - present
Institute of Sports and Preventive Medicine
Position
- Saarland University
Education
October 1991 - December 1995
October 1988 - September 1991
Publications
Publications (552)
A cross-sectional analysis was performed to investigate associations between environmental temperatures and injury occurrence in two professional male football (soccer) leagues. Data from seven seasons of the German Bundesliga (2142 matches) and four seasons of the Australian A-League (470 matches) were included. Injuries were collated via media re...
Objective
While emergency care for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is strictly regulated in professional football, the situation in amateur football is unclear. This study investigated the emergency readiness for SCA in German amateur football clubs.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey of 253 German amateur football clubs (fifth division and lower) was c...
Many football injury prevention programmes (IPPs) have been developed to target various injuries and populations. There was no specific IPP for youth players in place before. However, several existing IPPs designed for adults were also assessed in the youth population. All the existing ones face the challenge of long-term adherence even though effi...
Purpose : This study investigated associations between environmental temperatures and match running performance in 4 professional football leagues. Methods : Running performance indicators including total, high-speed, and sprint distances were collated from 1610 matches from the German Bundesliga 1 and 2, Japanese J-League, and Turkish SüperLig. En...
Introduction
It is unclear whether the number of sudden cardiac death (SCD) and survived sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) has increased among football players during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to compare the SCD/SCA burden between the pre-pandemic period and COVID-19 pandemic in football players worldwide.
Methods
The COVID-19 pandemic and...
Objective
The return-to-sport (RTS) process is multifaceted and complex, as multiple variables may interact and influence the time to RTS. These variables include intrinsic factors of the player, such as anthropometrics and playing position, or extrinsic factors, such as competitive pressure. Providing an individualised estimation is often challeng...
The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is one of the oldest diagnostic tools already known by the ancient Greeks. When blood is placed in a tube, a phase separation between blood plasma and the remaining part of the blood containing the cells appears. The distance between the top of the liquid and the phase boundary determines the sedimentation h...
The long-term health effects of football (soccer) have received significant attention in recent years. While brain health is currently the focus of this interest, potential long-term risks or benefits related to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases and cancer are also of interest to sports medicine professionals. However, studies assessing the ove...
The human microbiome emerges as a promising reservoir for diagnostic markers and therapeutics. Since host-associated microbiomes at various body sites differ and diseases do not occur in isolation, a comprehensive analysis strategy highlighting the full potential of microbiomes should include diverse specimen types and various diseases. To ensure r...
Purpose: Adequate physical fitness is a key requirement for elite footballers. Maximal fitness tests are the standard for evaluating fitness but are often fatiguing and time consuming. This study investigated the ability of various minimally invasive protocols to reflect changes in standard parameters of football players' physical fitness. Methods:...
In elite football, injury risk is considerable. Consequently, optimal rehabilitation and an adequate time point of return-to-play (RTP) are crucial. The elevated injury risk in the weeks after RTP (e.g. Orchard & Best, 2002; Wangensteen et al., 2016) and the time course of biological healing processes (Orchard & Best, 2002) nourished the speculatio...
Objective: This study aimed to identify potential changes in cardiorespiratory fitness among athletes who had previously been infected with SARS-CoV-2.
Methods: In this prospective observational multicenter hybrid study (CoSmo-S), cardiopulmonary exercise testing on treadmills or bicycle ergometers involving 2314 athletes (39.6% female) was conduc...
Background
Injury risk in professional football (soccer) is increased in the weeks following return-to-play (RTP). However, the time course of injury risk after RTP (the hazard curve) as well as its influencing factors are largely unknown. This knowledge gap, which is arguably due to the volatility of instantaneous risk when calculated for short ti...
Introduction. Assuring adequate hydration status is applicable and effective in
limiting detrimental effects of challenging environmental conditions. This study
investigated one team's hydration, performance and recovery during congested
football matches in warm and humid conditions. Methods. Wet-bulb-globe-
temperature (WBGT), pre-and post-match s...
Objective
To evaluate the efficacy of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) cooling break policy against alternative cooling configurations in attenuating thermal strain during simulated football in the heat.
Methods
12 males (age: 27±6 years, V̇O 2peak : 61±7 mL/kg/min) completed five 90 min intermittent treadmill football...
ABSTRACT
Football carries a high risk of injury for youth players. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of football-related injuries in young male players. The data stems from a previously conducted cluster-randomised controlled trial that investigated the efficacy of ‘FUNBALL’, a new injury prevention programme. This study con...
Purpose
Portable near-infrared spectroscopy devices allow measurements of muscle oxygen saturation (SmO2) in real time and non-invasively. To use NIRS for typical applications including intensity control and load monitoring, the day-to-day variability needs to be known to interpret changes confidently. This study investigates the absolute and relat...
Introduction. Playing in hot environmental temperatures is a growing concern for sporting and football organisations world-wide. To support player health and minimise performance deterioration during football in the heat, strategies including cooling procedures and breaks in play have been proposed, but investigations in field settings remain scarc...
To investigate the effect of forced even pacing through virtual pacing assistance and an opponent in a competitive setting on end‐spurt behaviour in freestyle swimmers, including related physiological underpinnings. Twenty‐seven competitive swimmers and triathletes were recruited. There were four 1500 m freestyle trials: (i) familiarisation time tr...
Background
The cardiac stress for veteran football players during match is considerable. In this specific elderly population, the kinetics of exercise-induced cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and B-Type natriuretic peptide (BNP) could potentially be related to cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) and cardiovascular disease and are therefore be investigated...
Objective
To compare the exercise intensity of walking football (WF) with walking (WA) and to describe specific movement characteristics of WF.
Design
Cross-sectional study.
Setting
Sports facilities Saarland University, Germany.
Patients
Eighteen patients with cardiovascular risk factors CVRFs and diseases (13 men and 5 women, age: 69 ± 10 year...
Objectives
To evaluate the efficacy of a new multicomponent, exercise-based injury prevention programme in football players 13–19 years old.
Methods
Two-arm cluster-randomised controlled trial with clubs as the unit of randomisation. 55 football teams from Kosovo of the under 15, under 17 and under 19 age groups were randomly assigned to the inter...
Background
The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) established a panel of experts to determine methodological recommendations for the conduct of studies which explore the acute effects of heading (defined as a single session of heading). This process was deemed necessary to improve the quality of studies which use heading trials to bette...
Background
Given the concern regarding the short-, medium- and long-term consequences of heading on brain health, being proactive about developing and implementing guidelines that help reduce the burden (volume, impact magnitude, injury risk) of heading in young and beginner players appears justified.
Objective
To explore the evidence underpinning...
The nine-year multicenter research project, titled REGman—Optimization of Training and Competition: Management of Regeneration in Elite Sports—aimed to advance the understanding of recovery management in sports and generate practical recommendations. In this article, we outline the overarching research program that links the specific research stran...
Background
An infection with SARS-CoV-2 can lead to a variety of symptoms and complications, which can impair athletic activity.
Objective
We aimed to assess the clinical symptom patterns, diagnostic findings, and the extent of impairment in sport practice in a large cohort of athletes infected with SARS-CoV-2, both initially after infection and a...
Introduction
The present study investigated the role of training intensity in the dose–response relationship between endurance training and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). The hypothesis was that beginners would benefit from an increase in training intensity after an initial training phase, even if the energy expenditure was not altered. For this...
Purpose:
This study analyses the immune response of elite athletes after COVID-19 vaccination with double-dose mRNA and a single-dose vector vaccine.
Methods:
Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody titers, neutralizing activity, CD4 and CD8 T-cells were examined in blood samples from 72 athletes before and after vaccination against COVID-19 (56 mRNA (B...
There is increasing concern regarding the effects of heading in football on brain health including cognitive, behavioural and neuromotor function, with research suggesting an association between repeated ball-head impacts and neurodegenerative disease. While longitudinal studies to determine the long-term consequences of heading are challenging, th...
Background: Refugees with exposure to multiple traumatic events are at high risk for developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Narrative exposure therapy (NET) is an effective treatment for the core symptoms of PTSD, but it does not reliably reduce depressive symptoms. Endurance exercise on the other hand was consistently foun...
Objectives
This study aimed to examine the importance assigned to assessing and considering biological maturation in thematic areas of player development and provide an overview of current practices in German football academies regarding its consideration in training and competition.
Methods
An online survey was sent to 56 elite German football ac...
Background
The main task of applied sport science is to inform decision-making in sports practice, that is, enabling practitioners to compare the expectable outcomes of different options (e.g. training programs).
Main Body
The “evidence” provided may range from group averages to multivariable prediction models. By contrast, many decisions are stil...
Background
Injury risk in professional football is increased in the weeks following return-to-play (RTP). However, the time course of injury risk after RTP (the hazard curve) as well as its influencing factors are largely unknown. This knowledge gap, which is arguably due to the volatility of instantaneous risk when calculated for short time interv...
Aim:
This descriptive epidemiological study aimed to quantify the incidence, characteristics and costs of head, neck and dental injuries in non-professional football players.
Methods:
Injury data were coded (using Orchard Sports Injury and Illness Classification System) from a de-identified insurance database containing three seasons (2018-2020)...
Given the scientific and public concern regarding the short-, medium- and long-term consequences of heading on brain health, being proactive about developing and implementing guidelines that help reduce the burden (volume, impact magnitude and injury risk) of heading in young and beginner players appears justified. This narrative review explores th...
Background/aim: As hotter environmental conditions become more frequent, football teams are
competing in high temperatures more regularly. Although hotter temperatures reduce exercise
performance, reports of their influence on running and gameplay performance during competitive
matches remain scarce.
Methods: One Major League Soccer team was ob...
Decision-making processes for return to play after injuries require forecasting the potential outcome (e.g., re-injury risk). In football, (re-)injury risk is influenced by a combination of physical, mental, and contextual factors. To predict (re-)injury risk, highly complex and flexible data-driven methods are a natural preference. For a data-driv...
Background
Standardized training prescriptions often result in large variation in training response with a substantial number of individuals that show little or no response at all. The present study examined whether the response in markers of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) to moderate intensity endurance training can be elevated by an increase in...
Objectives
The present study aimed to assess the perception and change of mental and physical fatigue and to examine acute effects of mental recovery strategies in air rifle athletes across simulated competition days with two consecutive competition bouts.
Design
We conducted a randomized counterbalanced crossover study.
Method
22 development air...
Background
Standardized training prescriptions often result in large variation in training response with a substantial number of individuals that show little or no response at all. The present study examined whether the nonresponse in markers of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) to moderate intensity endurance training can be overcome through an incr...
The study aim was to assess whether match-derived external-to-internal load ratios are a valid and reliable tool to measure physical fitness. Sixteen elite youth soccer players (17 ± 1 years) performed two maximal fitness tests. Subsequently, players participated in three intra-squad soccer matches in three consecutive weeks. Three GPS-based parame...
Background
This study describes the implementation of a standardised, prospective injury database covering the entire 1st male German football league (“Bundesliga”) based on publicly available media data. For the first time, various media sources were used simultaneously as the external validity of media-generated data was low in the past compared...
SARS-CoV-2 testing is dominated by PCR to guide treatment and individual as well as public health preventive measures. Among 1700 football (soccer) players and staff of the German Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 who were regularly tested by PCR twice weekly, 98 individuals had a positive PCR (May 2020 to mid-January 2021). A subset of these were retest...
Ohne Kenntnisse der Anatomie des menschlichen Körpers sowie jener physiologischen Prozesse, die während sportlicher Belastung ablaufen, ist ein grundlegendes Verständnis des Trainings und der Leistungsfähigkeit von Athleten kaum denkbar. Auch Genese und Prävention von Sportverletzungen werden erst auf einer derartigen Basis plausibel.
Wenn wissenschaftliche Disziplinbezeichnungen sich aus zwei Begriffen zusammensetzen, bezeichnet meist der zweite Teil des Wortes die Mutterdisziplin. Dazu passt, dass die Sportmedizin ihren Ursprung im klinischen Bereich der Sportlerversorgung hat, am sichtbarsten in der Sporttraumatologie. Dennoch zählen traditionell auch leistungsphysiologische...
Background:
Playing football is associated with a high risk of injury. Injury prevention is a priority as injuries not only negatively impact health but also potentially performance. Various multi-component exercise-based injury prevention programs for football players have been examined in studies.
Objective:
We aimed to investigate the efficac...
Zusammenfassung. Der Athlete Sleep Behavior Questionnaire ist ein englischsprachiger Fragebogen zur Erhebung des individuellen Schlafverhaltens von Sportler_innen. Ziel dieser Studie war die Übersetzung des Athlete Sleep Behavior Questionnaire ins Deutsche sowie die wissenschaftliche Validierung dieser deutschen 18-Item-Version, dem Fragebogen zum...
Background
Refugees with exposure to multiple traumatic events are at high risk for developing trauma-related mental disorders, including Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression. Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) is an effective treatment for the core symptoms of PTSD, but many studies did not find that it significantly reduces depressiv...
Purpose:
This study aimed to examine the responsiveness of commonly used measurement instruments to a short training camp by examining the time course of psychophysiological responses in high-level youth soccer players.
Methods:
Monitoring was carried out in 14 U15 male soccer players of 1 professional youth academy. Players provided data 3 days...
To assess the players' risk of a subsequent injury after sustaining concussive injuries and their return-to-competition in German professional men's football. A prospective injury database in the 1st Bundesliga was created encompassing 7 seasons (2014/15-2020/21). Cox proportional hazard model analyzed whether a concussive injury increased the risk...
This systematic review provides a synthesis of research investigating submaximal protocols to monitor changes in cardiocirculatory fitness in running-based sports. Following PRISMA guidelines, 2,452 records were identified and 14 studies, representing 515 athletes, satisfied the eligibility criteria. While most studies found large associations betw...
Aims:
Data on sports-related sudden cardiac arrest (SrSCA) among young adults in the general population are scarce. We aimed to determine the overall SrSCA incidence, characteristics, and outcomes in young adults.
Methods and results:
Prospective cohort study of all cases of SrSCA between 2012 and 2019 in Germany and Paris area, France, involvin...
Recently an individualisation algorithm has been developed and shown to significantly improve the diagnostic accuracy of creatine kinase (CK) and urea in endurance sports and Badminton. In this study, the applicability and benefit of this algorithm was evaluated using repeated measures data from 161 professional German soccer players monitored duri...
Positional tracking data allows football practitioners to derive features that describe patterns of player behavior and quantify performance. Existing research using tracking data has mostly focused on what occurred on the pitch, such as the determinants of effective passing. There have yet to be studies attempting to use findings from data science...
The prevention of infections is essential to athletes’ health and performance. Even mild infections can severely affect athletic performance and the eligibility to train and compete. One of the most effective means of avoiding severe infections are vaccinations. However, like the general population, athletes frequently do not receive the recommende...