OBJECTIVE Hamstring injuries are a common occurrence among professional football cheerleaders. The purpose of this study is to identify the effects of an eccentric, closed-chain hamstring exercise intervention on hamstring injury-associated pain during the course of the football season among professional football cheerleaders. METHODS Forty-three female cheerleaders participated in an eccentr...

This study examined the effectiveness of a functional hamstring training exercise, the razor curl on conditioning the hamstring and gluteal musculature. Eight healthy, female intercollegiate athletes participated (mean age 20.8 +/- 3.9 years; mean height, 177.8 +/- 10.9 cm; mean weight, 67.3 +/- 9.9 kg). Electromyographic (EMG) data were collected on the following muscles: medial hamstring (sem...

BACKGROUND The incidence of acute hamstring injuries is high in several sports, including the different forms of football. PURPOSE The authors investigated the preventive effect of eccentric strengthening of the hamstring muscles using the Nordic hamstring exercise compared with no additional hamstring exercise on the rate of acute hamstring injuries in male soccer players. STUDY DESIGN Ran...

OBJECTIVES To assess in a single team of Australian Rules football players the effect of a specific intervention program on the incidence and consequence of hamstring muscle strain injuries. METHOD A prospective study was performed with a single team being followed for four playing seasons for hamstring injury. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to confirm the diagnosis of hamstring muscle i...

Background Inversion injury to the ankle and hamstring injuries are common problems in most sports. It is not known whether these injuries constitute a predisposing factor or a precursor of injury or re-injury of these anatomical locations. Therefore, we wished to test the hypothesis that a previous inversion ankle injury exerted a significant effect on the chance of an athlete suffering from a...

Proximal hamstring tendinosis and partial hamstring origin ruptures are painful conditions of the proximal thigh and hip that may occur in the acute, chronic, or acute on chronic setting. Few publications exist related to their diagnosis and management. This systematic review discusses the incidence, treatment, and prognosis of proximal hamstring tendinosis and partial hamstring ruptures. Conse...

Hamstring tendon autograft remains a popular graft choice for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. Although there are a variety of autograft and allograft options available for ACL reconstruction, advantages of hamstring tendon autografts include decreased postoperative knee pain and an overall easier surgical recovery compared with bone patellar tendon bone autograft. In addition, ...

BACKGROUND The local muscular endurance of knee flexors, during eccentric work in particular, is important in preventing or delaying kinematic changes associated with fatigue during treadmill running. This result, however, may not be transferable to overground running. OBJECTIVE To test the hypothesis that overground running is associated with eccentric hamstring fatigue. METHODS Thirteen r...

OBJECTIVE To prospectively establish risk factors for hamstring muscle strain injury using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to define the diagnosis of posterior thigh injury. METHOD In a prospective cohort study using two elite Australian Rules football clubs, the anthropometric characteristics and past clinical history of 114 athletes were recorded. Players were followed throughout the subse...

CONTEXT Preventing noncontact ACL injuries has been a major focus of athletic trainers and researchers. One factor that may influence female noncontact ACL injury is the fluctuating concentrations of hormones in the body. OBJECTIVE To determine whether muscle properties change across the menstrual cycle. DESIGN Repeated measures. Testing was performed within 3 d after the onset of menses an...