Opar, David A. and Williams, Morgan D. and Timmins, Ryan G. and Hickey, Jack and Duhig, Steven J. and Shield, Anthony J. (2015) Eccentric Hamstring Strength and Hamstring Injury Risk in Australian Footballers. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 47 (4). pp. 857-865. ISSN 0195-9131

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Abstract

Purpose: Are eccentric hamstring strength and between-limb imbalance in eccentric strength, measured during the Nordic hamstring exercise, risk factors for hamstring strain injury (HSI)? Methods: Elite Australian footballers (n = 210) from five different teams participated. Eccentric hamstring strength during the Nordic exercise was obtained at the commencement and conclusion of preseason training and at the midpoint of the season. Injury history and demographic data were also collected. Reports on prospectively occurring HSI were completed by the team medical staff. Relative risk (RR) was determined for univariate data, and logistic regression was employed for multivariate data. Results: Twenty-eight new HSI were recorded. Eccentric hamstring strength below 256 N at the start of the preseason and 279 N at the end of the preseason increased the risk of future HSI 2.7-fold (RR, 2.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 5.5; P = 0.006) and 4.3-fold (RR, 4.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.7 to 11.0; P = 0.002), respectively. Between-limb imbalance in strength of greater than 10% did not increase the risk of future HSI. Univariate analysis did not reveal a significantly greater RR for future HSI in athletes who had sustained a lower limb injury of any kind within the last 12 months. Logistic regression revealed interactions between both athlete age and history of HSI with eccentric hamstring strength, whereby the likelihood of future HSI in older athletes or athletes with a history of HSI was reduced if an athlete had high levels of eccentric strength. Conclusion: Low levels of eccentric hamstring strength increased the risk of future HSI. Interaction effects suggest that the additional risk of future HSI associated with advancing age or previous injury was mitigated by higher levels of eccentric hamstring strength.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	Nordic hamstring exercise; prospective; muscle injury; epidemiology;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Science and Engineering > Sports Science and Nutrition
Item ID:	17920
Identification Number:	https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000000465
Depositing User:	Jack Hickey
Date Deposited:	08 Dec 2023 15:12
Journal or Publication Title:	Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
Publisher:	Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	Publisher
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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