Research in prevention and rehabilitation of hamstring muscle strain injury

Hamstring muscle strain injury is the most common and prevalent injury in sports involving high-speed running,such as American football,Australian football,English rugby,soccer,track and field,and cricket.1Hamstring muscle strain injury also has a high recurrence rate of up to 48%.2The average practice and game time loss due to hamstring injury is between17 and 60 days,contingent on the grade of injury.2Severe hamstring muscle strain injuries,and associated recurrent inju-

The effect of hamstring flexibility on peak hamstring muscle strain in sprinting

Background:The effect of hamstring flexibility on the peak hamstring muscle strains in sprinting,until now,remained unknown,which limited our understanding of risk factors of hamstring muscle strain injury(hamstring injury).As a continuation of our previous study,this study was aimed to examine the relationship between hamstring flexibility and peak hamstring muscle strains in sprinting.Methods:Ten male and 10 female college students participated in this study.Hamstring flexibility,isokinetic strength data,three-dimensional(3D)kinematic data in a hamstring isokinetic test,and kinematic data in a sprinting test were collected for each participant.The optimal hamstring muscle lengths and peak hamstring muscle strains in sprinting were determined for each participant.Results:The muscle strain of each of the 3 biarticulated hamstring muscles reached a peak during the late swing phase.Peak hamstring muscle strains were negatively correlated to hamstring flexibility(0.1179 ≤ R2≤ 0.4519,p = 0.001) but not to hip and knee joint positions at the time of peak hamstring muscle strains.Peak hamstring muscle strains were not different for different genders.Peak muscle strains of biceps long head(0.071 ± 0.059) and semitendinosus(0.070 ± 0.055) were significantly greater than that of semimembranosus(0.064 ± 0.054).Conclusion:A potential for hamstring injury exists during the late swing phase of sprinting.Peak hamstring muscle strains in sprinting are negatively correlated to hamstring flexibility across individuals.The magnitude of peak muscle strains is different among hamstring muscles in sprinting,which may explain the different injury rate among hamstring muscles.

Relationships among hamstring muscle optimal length and hamstring flexibility and strength

Background:Hamstring muscle strain injury(hamstring injury) due to excessive muscle strain is one of the most common injuries in sports.The relationships among hamstring muscle optimal lengths and hamstring flexibility and strength were unknown,which limited our understanding of risk factors for hamstring injury.This study was aimed at examining the relationships among hamstring muscle optimal length and flexibility and strength.Methods:Hamstring flexibility and isokinetic strength data and three-dimensional kinematic data for hamstring isokinetic tests were collected for11 male and 10 female recreational athletes.The maximal hamstring muscle forces,optimal lengths,and muscle lengths in standing were determined for each participant.Results:Hamstring muscle optimal lengths were significantly correlated to hamstring flexibility score and gender,but not to hamstring strength.The greater the flexibility score,the longer the hamstring muscle optimal length.With the same flexibility score,females tend to have shorter hamstring optimal muscle lengths compared to males.Hamstring flexibility score and hamstring strength were not correlated.Hamstring muscle optimal lengths were longer than but not significantly correlated to corresponding hamstring muscle lengths in standing.Conclusion:Hamstring flexibility may affect hamstring muscle maximum strain in movements.With similar hamstring flexibility,hamstring muscle maximal strain in a given movement may be different between genders.Hamstring muscle lengths in standing should not be used as an approximation of their optimal lengths in calculation of hamstring muscle strain in musculoskeletal system modeling.