High‐speed running during match‐play before and after return from hamstring injury in professional footballers

Abstract

Hamstring injuries constitute the single largest cause of lost playing time in professional football. While restoring high‐speed running ability is paramount for rehabilitation from these injuries, little evidence exists regarding the extent of return to sport running performance after hamstring injury in football. We examined medical and match performance data available from a sample of 38 professional soccer players competing in the Qatar Stars League (N = 1426 observations) to describe high‐speed running performance during match‐play prior and subsequent to a hamstring strain injury. Multivariable‐adjusted random‐effects generalized additive models estimated post‐ versus pre‐hamstring injury differences in maximal speed (km/h), high‐speed running (>20 km/h), and sprinting (>25 km/h) distance. Mean effects and uncertainty (95% confidence interval, CI) were interpreted against the estimated random match‐to‐match variability in maximal sprinting speed, high‐speed running distance, and sprinting running distance of ±1.67 km/h (95% CI, 1.62–1.72 km/h), ±102 m (95% CI, 99–105 m), and ±60 m (95% CI, 58–61 m), respectively. The estimated post‐ versus pre‐hamstring injury mean differences in maximal sprinting speed, high‐speed running distance, and sprinting running distance primary outcomes were −0.25 km/h (95% CI, −0.38 to −0.12 km/h), −43 m (95% CI, −56 to −30 m), and −22 m (95% CI, −29 to −16 m). Players returning to football match‐play after hamstring strain injury experienced reductions in high‐speed match physical performance that were well within normal match‐to‐match variation in performance.

Understanding the impact of hamstring injuries on match performance in Spanish professional soccer players

“…Our initial hypothesis was based on previous studies (Jiménez -Rubio, et al, 2020;Whiteley, et al, 2022) that highlighted the significant impact of hamstring injuries on external load variables, including speed, total distance, accelerations, and decelerations. It has been demonstrated that when athletes return to sports practice after suffering a hamstring injury, they exhibit a decrease in horizontal force production and a noticeable decline in sprinting speed performance (Mendiguchia, et al, 2014).…”

“…Specifically, Whiteley et al (2022) found that players returning to football match-play after hamstring strain injury experienced reductions in high-speed match physical performance that were well within normal match-to-match variation in performance. Also, Jiménez-Rubio, Navandar, Rivilla-García, Paredes-Hernández, and Gómez-Ruano (2020) examined the impact of hamstring injuries on match performance parameters after the return to play (RTP).…”

Hamstring Injury Rehabilitation in the Female Athlete. A Clinical Case

“…Especially hamstring injuries are very common among, for example, football players, tennis players and hockey players [1]. Such lesions can be very detrimental for athletic performance [2]. As hamstring injuries are associated with a lengthy recovery period and a high rate of reinjury, it would be interesting to have new and safe treatment modalities to speed up recovery from such an injury [3].…”

Treatment of Grade 1 Hamstring Injury with Glucopuncture: A Clinical Case

“…Hamstring injuries are very common among, for example, football players, rugby players and hockey players. Such lesions can be very detrimental for athletic performance [1,2,3,4,5,6]. In particular, injuries to the intramuscular tendon may be present in up to 41% of all HSI and have been described as a 'serious' thigh muscle strain [7].…”