If you watch football regularly you will of likely seen this before, a player sprinting along the turf before pulling up quickly like he’s been shot by a mystery sniper in the back of the thigh. This is usually a result of a hamstring strain.
But what are the hamstrings, what do they do, why are they the most common soft tissue injury within football and how’s best to prevent them? The hamstrings are made up of 3 large muscles the Biceps Femoris, Semimembranosus & Semitendinosus. They predominantly stretch from the posterior side of the pelvis down to the top of the lower leg. They cross and act upon two joints the hip and the knee making them biarticular muscles. Their main roles are hip extension and knee flexion, however it’s their role in decelerating knee extension that is most interesting regarding injury. 57% of hamstring injuries in football occur during high speed running. Just before the foot strikes the ground the hamstrings are close to their maximally lengthened position while working eccentrically to slow down the extending leg. If the hamstring does not have the capacity to tolerate this load an injury can occur. There are several risk factors that research has shown are important in highlighting individuals at risk of hamstring injury including a lack of strength, poor range of motion and previous injury (22% chance of reoccurrence within first 2 months of return to play). Poor running mechanics, pelvic control and improper warmups/programming can also increase the likelihood. A longitudinal research study has shown an average annual increase year on year of 2.3% regarding total hamstring injury rate in elite men’s football! So how do we decrease our chances? Eccentric strengthening should form an integral part of any hamstring strengthening programme, RDL’s & Nordic Hamstring curls are great options with one being knee dominant and the other hip dominant. Including exercises with higher velocity contractions such as long lever hamstring switches are a great way to mimic the intense demands of maximal sprinting. Analysing running mechanics can be helpful to look for over striding or excessive anterior pelvic tilt during the sprint cycle. Improving range of motion of the hamstrings can also help, though be aware that if you have chronic tightness it may be down to protective tension due to a lack of pelvic control, and repetitively stretching can exacerbate the problem. Hope this helps you build some bullet proof hammies! Any questions, drop em below. Hamstring lnjuries in Sprinting - The Role of eccentric Exercise, Peter Stanton et al 1989 Ekstrand J, Waldén M, Hägglund M, Hamstring injuries have increased by 4% annually in men's professional football since 2001: a 13-year longitudinal analysis of the UEFA Elite Club injury study, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016.
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