Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 10, 2026
Muscle Imbalances: Testing and Training Functional Eccentric Hamstring Strength in Athletic Populations
Published on: May 1, 2018
Can a clinical test of hamstring strength identify football players at risk of hamstring strain?
Anthony G Schache1, Kay M Crossley, Ian G Macindoe
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3010, Australia. anthonys@unimelb.edu.au
Purpose:
To demonstrate the potential for a simple clinical test of hamstring muscle strength to identify susceptibility to muscle strain injury.
Methods:
A single-case design was used; specifically, an elite-level male Australian Rules football player performed bilateral isometric maximum voluntary contractions of the hamstring muscles on a weekly basis for a period of 5 weeks preceding a right hamstring muscle strain injury.
Results:
Minimal asymmetry (no greater than ±1.2% difference) was evident in the hamstring isometric maximum voluntary contractions during the first 4 weeks, but 5 days prior to injury, the right hamstring isometric maximum voluntary contraction was reduced by 10.9% compared to the left.
Conclusion:
Measuring asymmetry in isometric maximum voluntary contractions of the hamstring muscles may be a useful clinical test to identify susceptibility to muscle strain injury.
