OBJECTIVE To investigate early clinical predictors of time to return to competition and of recurrence following hamstring strain. DESIGN Prospective observational study. SETTING Elite level of Australian football competition. PARTICIPANT 59 players who suffered a hamstring strain in 2002 season. PREDICTORS Clinical assessment by a physiotherapist and questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUR...

The hamstring muscles and tendons are the most commonly injured muscle group in athletes. The hamstring tendons are particularly vulnerable to injuries, as they cross 2 joints and have a high proportion of type 2 muscle fibers. They act mainly as decelerators of the leg, and as they work eccentrically, they are prone to excessive force in the muscle-tendon unit. Most hamstring injuries are stra...

The aim of this study was to determine whether an intensive stretch program increases muscle extensibility or subjects' tolerance to an uncomfortable stretch sensation. Twenty healthy able-bodied individuals with limited hamstring muscle extensibility were recruited. A within-subjects design was used whereby one leg of each subject was randomly allocated to the experimental condition and the ot...

PURPOSE This study aimed to examine the acute effects of dynamic stretching on concentric leg extensor and flexor peak torque, eccentric leg flexor peak torque, and the conventional and functional hamstring-quadriceps (H:Q) ratios. METHODS Twenty-one women (mean ± SD age = 20.6 ± 2.0 yr, body mass = 64.5 ± 9.3 kg, height = 164.7 ± 6.5 cm) performed maximal voluntary isokinetic leg extension, ...

QUESTION Does the localised application of vibration over the hamstrings improve hamstring extensibility? DESIGN Randomised controlled trial with concealed allocation, intention-to-treat analysis, and assessor blinding. PARTICIPANTS 30 non-athletic females (aged 18-22 yrs) with limited hamstring extensibility bilaterally. INTERVENTION The experimental group received 3 sessions of localise...

[Purpose] To assess the effect of hamstring and quadriceps strengthening exercises on pain intensity, gait velocity, maximum isometric strength, and activities of daily living of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). [Subjects and Methods] A total of 20 patients with knee OA, 50 to 65 years of age (57.65 ± 4.78 years), received hot packs, strengthening exercises for the quadriceps and the ham...

The purpose of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability and the criterion validity of a newly developed chair sit-and-reach (CSR) test as a measure of hamstring flexibility in older adults CSR performance was also compared to sit-and-reach (SR) and back-saver sit-and-reach (BSR) measures of hamstring flexibility. To estimate reliability, 76 men and women (M age = 70.5 years) perfor...

It is not clear whether the strength or endurance of thigh muscles (quadriceps and hamstring) is positively or negatively correlated with the adduction moment of osteoarthritic knees. This study therefore assessed the relationships between the strength and endurance of the quadriceps and hamstring muscles and adduction moment in osteoarthritic knees and evaluated predictors of the adduction mom...

BACKGROUND Complete proximal hamstring tendon rupture is a rare injury associated with significant functional loss. Nonoperative treatment has proven inadequate in returning patients to their previous activity level. PURPOSE We wanted to describe the outcome of primary surgical repair of the proximal hamstring tendon avulsion. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. METHODS Between 1994 ...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of dynamic soft tissue mobilisation (STM) on hamstring flexibility in healthy male subjects. METHODS Forty five males volunteered to participate in a randomised, controlled single blind design study. Volunteers were randomised to either control, classic STM, or dynamic STM intervention. The control group was positioned prone f...