We tend to find that the hamstrings are among the most injured muscle groups in sports. In this article, we will discuss some of the problems surrounding the occurrence of these injuries. In our next blog post, we will discuss the steps that can be taken to decrease the risk of hamstring injuries.
About Sports Hamstring Injuries and Strains
The hamstrings are a group of three muscles that assist in both hip extension and knee flexion. Hamstring strains – the majority being acute, traumatic strains – are most common in sports that involve sprinting, turning, and jumping (2).
In chaotic environments such as these sports, we must focus on what can be controlled. Knowing these controllable factors can have a huge impact on how the chance of these injuries is decreased.
Additional factors include improper warm-ups and reduced mobility (2).
“Strains usually occur when the muscle is either elongated passively or activated during stretch”. (2)
Hamstring Injury Risk Factors
Turner et al. (2) listed 3 risk factors that hugely impact hamstring injury occurrence:
- Lack of hamstring-specific strengths
- Fatigue
- Quadriceps inflexibility
At Engineered Sports, we work diligently to acknowledge the research and take into account evident risk factors such as these to ensure our athletes not only play at peak levels but also continue to remain as healthy as possible.
Hamstring Injury Recovery
Recovering for a hamstring injury can be a long and arduous task. If you have a hamstring injury we are fully equipped to get you on the road to recovery.
Preventing Hamstring Injuries
For a detailed discussion on techniques for avoiding Hamstring strains, read our next post: How to Prevent Hamstring Injuries.
References:
1. Santana, J.C. Hamstrings of steel: preventing the pull, part I – isolated versus integrated function. Strength Cond J. 22(6): 35-36, 2000.
2. Turner, A.N., Cree, J., Comfort, P., Jones, L., Chavda, S., Bishop, C., and Reynolds, A. Hamstring strain prevention in elite soccer players. Strength Cond J. 36(5): 10-20, 2014.
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