Prevention and Rehabilitation of Hamstring Injury in Football Players

In football players hamstring stains and injuries are the most frequently occurring injuries. They are very challenging to treat and frustrating to both the player and the therapist. Hamstring strain accounts for 12 – 16 % of all injuries in athletes (1,2) with re-injury rate reported as high as 22-34% (3,4). A number of risk factors for hamstring injuries include decreased flexibility, strength deficits, poor core stability, and lack of proper warm-up, poor lumbar posture and prior hamstring injury. (5).Hamstring strains can occur during a variety of athletic maneuvers and situations, resulting in several distinct types of injuries, each with a unique mechanism. The first occurs during a stretching of the muscle at extreme joint positions, such as in a Rockette style high kick.(6,7). These injuries generally occur to the proximal free tendon of the semi-membranous tendon and appear to be less severe initially but ultimately require a longer recovery time than hamstrings strained by other mechanisms.(8) The second mechanism of hamstring strain occurs during high speed running. It has been well established in the literature that eccentric training is effective in the prevention of hamstring strains.(9,10). Unfortunately, despite the best prevention programs hamstring strain injuries still occur.