SPRINT PERFORMANCE IN FOOTBALL (SOCCER) PLAYERS WITH AND WITHOUT A PREVIOUS HAMSTRING STRAIN INJURY: AN EXPLORATIVE...

Hamstring strain injuries are common in many sports. Following a hamstring injury, deficits in peak and explosive strength may persist after return to sport potentially affecting sprint performance. Assessment of repeated-sprint ability is recognized as an important part of the return to sport evaluation after a hamstring injury.Purpose: This purpose of this exploratory cross-sectional study was to compare sprinting performance obtained during a repeated-sprint test between football players with and without a previous hamstring strain injury.

Forty-four fully active sub-elite football players, 11 with a previous hamstring strain injury during the preceding 12 months (cases; mean age, SD: 25.6 ± 4.4) and 33 demographically similar controls (mean age, SD: 23.2 ± 3.7), were included from six clubs. All players underwent a repeated-sprint test, consisting of six 30-meter maximal sprints with 90 seconds of recovery between sprints. Sprint performance was captured using high-speed video-recording and subsequently assessed by a blinded tester to calculate maximal sprint velocity, maximal horizontal force, maximal horizontal power, and mechanical effectiveness.

A significant between-group difference was seen in favor of players having a previous hamstring injury over 6 sprints for maximal velocity (mean difference: 0.457 m/s, 95% CI: 0.059-0.849, p = 0.025) and mechanical effectiveness (mean difference: 0.009, 95% CI: 0.001-0.016, p = 0.020).

Repeated-sprint performance was not impaired in football players with a previous hamstring strain injury; in fact, higher mean maximal sprinting velocity and better mechanical effectiveness were found in players with compared to without a previous hamstring injury. The higher sprinting velocity, which likely increases biomechanical load on the hamstring muscles, in previously injured players may increase the risk of recurrent injuries.

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