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Adaptive Soccer

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Adaptive Sports Medicine

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Abstract

Soccer or football is arguably the most beloved and widely played sport in the world. Since the late twentieth century, significant progress has been made for the sport to evolve and become more inclusive through rule and game play modifications and incorporation of specialty equipment. While the progenitor has well-established injury surveillance systems, all forms of adaptive soccer are still in their infancy with regards to tracking injury profiles and monitoring outcomes. The need to address this ongoing deficiency as well as the barriers affecting participation is recognized and must addressed as a collective. Legislative policy and organizational change have positively impacted this movement, but there remains a significant opportunity to meet the sporting and medical needs of the athletes who currently or aspire to participate in adaptive soccer.

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Abbreviations

ADA:

Americans with Disabilities Act

cm:

Centimeter(s)

CP:

Cerebral palsy

DIFA:

Deaf International Football Association.

FIFA:

Fédération Internationale de Football Association

FIFDS:

Football International Federation for Players with Down Syndrome

FIPFA:

Federation Internationale de Powerchair Football Association

g:

Grams

GMFCS:

Gross Motor Function Classification System

IBSF:

International Blind Sports Federations

IDEA:

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

IDSF:

International Dwarf Sports Federation

IFAB:

International Football Association Board

IFCPF:

International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football

IFSS:

International Federation of Skate Soccer

IPC:

International Paralympic Committee

IPFA:

International Powerchair Football Association

IQ:

Intelligence quotient

kg:

Kilogram(s)

kph:

Kilometer per hour

m:

Meter(s)

m/s:

Meters per second

USA:

United States of America

USPSA:

United States Power Soccer Association

WAFF:

World Amputee Football Federation

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for the generous support of American Amputee Soccer Association, The Bridge Adaptive Sports and Recreation, Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute (Golden Valley, MN), the National Veterans Sports Programs and Special Events, the United States Association of Blind Athletes, and the United States Soccer Federation for permitting us to share their story and that of those they represent through the images captured at their sporting events.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of PM&R, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Mark W. Volker, Kersten L. Schwanz & Alexander M. Senk

  2. Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, NY, USA

    Daniel H. Blatz

  3. Department of Physiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA

    Daniel H. Blatz

  4. Departments of PM&R and Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders, Minneapolis Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Alexander M. Senk

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  1. Mark W. Volker
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Correspondence to Alexander M. Senk .

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  1. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, AZ, USA

    Arthur Jason De Luigi

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Volker, M.W., Schwanz, K.L., Blatz, D.H., Senk, A.M. (2023). Adaptive Soccer. In: De Luigi, A.J. (eds) Adaptive Sports Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-44285-8_16

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