Functional Hamstring: Quadriceps Ratio and Hamstring Injury Incidence in Track and Field Athletes

Twenty-one percent of hurdlers and sprinters (22 of 106 athletes) from a Division 1 University Track and Field team sustained hamstring strains in the 2010 season preventing practice and competition. Functional hamstring to quadriceps strength ratio was measured to study muscular imbalances in these athletes. The hypotheses were: 1) Athletes with previous hamstring injuries have a greater chance of subsequent hamstring injury whether or not they have a functional ratio deficit than those who don’t have a history of hamstring injuries; 2) Athletes with a functional hamstring to quadriceps ratio deficit at pretest will have a higher occurrence rate of hamstring injury during the study than those without a deficit. A sample size of fifteen (8 females and 7 males; 18 years +) volunteered. No athlete had a recent history (within 12 weeks) of lower extremity injury. The PrimusRS isokinetic testing produced the eccentric hamstring (30 deg/s) and the concentric quadriceps (240 deg/s) muscle contractions for functional ratio. A Pearson correlation analyses found a moderate correlation between the pretest functional ratio deficit of the right/left leg and previous hamstring injuries and low correlation between the pretest functional ratio deficit of the right/ left leg and injuries sustained during the study. Majority of athletes with a previous history of hamstring injury had a functional ratio deficit.