Does the Eccentric Strength Profile of the Hamstrings Determine the Severity of Injury Sustained?
David Rhodes, Jill Alexander, Ryland Morgans and 1 others
PMID 40756800WHAT IT FOUND
Pre-injury eccentric hamstring strength did not predict the severity, location, or grade of hamstring injuries in elite footballers.
However, intratendinous injuries were most common in severe grades, suggesting strength tests may miss tendon-specific risks that require separate assessment.
Key findings
01Eccentric hamstring strength metrics showed no significant relationship with injury grade, player level, or injury site.
02Intratendinous injuries were predominantly severe, with 91% of Grade 3 and 4 injuries being intratendinous compared to 13% of Grade 1 and 2 injuries.
03Players with high relative strength were still susceptible to severe intratendinous injuries, with 42% of those exceeding a relative strength of 10.0 sustaining Grade 3 or 4 intratendinous injuries.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study used a convenience sample of players from clubs willing to share data, which may introduce selection bias. No power calculation was performed prior to the study. The analysis did not distinguish between proximal and distal tendon injuries, which may have different implications for rehabilitation. Other factors contributing to injury risk, such as fatigue, previous injury, or training load, were not controlled for in the analysis. The study only included non-contact injuries, limiting generalizability to contact-related hamstring injuries.
Declared interests
No specific funding sources or conflicts of interest were declared in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the null finding as evidence that eccentric strength training is ineffective for preventing injuries. The study only examined the relationship between strength levels and the severity of injuries that already occurred, not whether strength reduces the likelihood of injury. Additionally, do not assume that high eccentric strength guarantees protection against severe tendon injuries, as many high-strength players in this study sustained Grade 3 or 4 intratendinous injuries.