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- Issue 98
- Reliability of tests assessing hamstring function…
Reliability of tests assessing hamstring function during hip extension and their associations with maximal sprinting speed: a cross-sectional study
Key Points
- Hamstring injuries are on the rise and account for up to 20% of all injuries in soccer and American football.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE
Hamstring strain injuries (HSIs) account for up to 20% of injuries in soccer and American football (1). They are extremely prevalent in open field sports due to the integral role they play in high-speed running and sprinting horizontal propulsion (2,3). Moreover, sprint performance has been shown to be associated with hamstring muscle size and architecture (4, 5).
Despite the importance of the hamstrings’ hip extension action in sprinting, clinical strength and performance testing of the hamstring muscle group tends to bias testing knee flexion (6). There is a paucity of high-quality testing procedures to isolate and assess hip extension kinetic demands associated with sprinting. Sports medicine clinicians need better options to inform return to sport (RTS).
The authors of this paper compared three horizontal propulsion focused hip extension tests to their subjects maximal sprinting speed and assessed the tests’ reliability to be used as a clinical decision-making tool.
The ultimate late-stage adaptations for successful return to sport following high-speed running hamstring strain injuries are only going to be achieved via high-speed running.
METHODS
- A convenience sample of 20 healthy adult men (mean age = 26) with no history of HSI’s performed maximal sprinting tests on a non-motorized treadmill (NMT) to establish their top end speed.