Zacharias Flore

Zacharias's passion for football has led him to start his career in the field of sports. After his studies in physiotherapy (2009-2012), he studied Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Paderborn. During his studies in Sports and Exercise Science, he also worked as a research assistant at the institute of sports medicine in the area of performance diagnostics. When he finished his studies, he gained experience as a physiotherapist and athletic coach in German professional football at Werder Bremen where he was working for the duration of one season. 

In 2015, Zacharias switched to professional football at Hamburger SV. Because of his versatile qualifications, he has been employed in various fields of activity. He has been working as a first-team sports physiotherapist and rehabilitation coach at Hamburg SV (2018-2023) before he became the Head of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation in another German professional Bundesliga club in 2023.

Zacharias has now started his PhD with a special focus on therapy and rehabilitation after ligamentous ankle injuries in professional football. His PhD is supervised by Dr. Karen Hambly and Dr. Kyra De Coninck. 

Publications

Articles

Flore, Z., Hambly, K., De Coninck, K. and Welsch, G. (2022) ‘Time‐loss and recurrence of lateral ligament ankle sprains in male elite football: A systematic review and meta‐analysis’, Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. Wiley, pp. 1690-1709. doi: 10.1111/sms.14217

Flore Z et al. Ausfallzeiten und Wiederverletzungsraten nach lateralen Bandverletzungen des Sprunggelenks bei männlichen Profifußballspielern: Zusammenfassung eines Systematic Reviews mit Metaanalyse. Time-loss and recurrence rates after lateral ankle ligament sprains in male elite football players: summary of a systematic review and meta-analysis. SportverletzungSportschaden (online 19.04.2023). DOI: 10.1055/a-2047-9031

Flore Z, Hambly K, De Coninck K, Welsch G. A Rehabilitation Algorithm After Lateral Ankle Sprains in Professional Football (Soccer): An Approach Based on Clinical Practice Guidelines. IJSPT. 2024;19(7):910-922.

Flore Z, Welsch G, Bloch H. Return to Play Assessment After Lateral Ankle Sprains – German Male Elite Youth Football (Soccer) Academy Baseline Data. IJSPT. 2024;19(8):976-988.

Interesting Kent-Interview: working in elite football / PhD candidate at Kent 

https://www.kent.ac.uk/news/education/35725/working-with-elite-football-teams-to-improve-ankle-injury-rehabilitation

During his work as a research assistant at the institute of sports medicine at the University of Paderborn, he supervised study projects and investigated the effects of training demands on parameters of the autonomic nervous system (heart rate variability and electro-dermal activity) in competitive football players. 

Zacharias's current research interest is in the rehabilitation after ankle injuries in professional football. He has developed a specific rehabilitation algorithm, which he will evaluate in his PhD project.  

Supervised by Dr Kyra Dr Coninck