Hamstring Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation in Sports
Summary
Hamstring strain injuries represent a leading cause of time loss in sports characterised by high‐speed running, rapid changes of direction and kicking actions. These injuries arise when the muscle undergoes excessive mechanical strain or rapid stretch, often during the late swing phase of sprinting. Risk factors include previous injury, muscle weakness or imbalance, poor flexibility, inadequate warm‐up and neuromuscular fatigue. Prevention strategies focus on enhancing the hamstring’s capacity to tolerate strain through eccentric strength training, optimising sprint biomechanics to reduce peak muscle stretch, and implementing load‐management protocols that balance training intensity with adequate recovery. Rehabilitation protocols follow a staged approach, progressing from pain management and gentle stretching through to targeted eccentric and lengthening exercises, neuromuscular control drills and sport‐specific conditioning. Objective criteria for return to play emphasise symmetrical strength and flexibility, functional performance tests and absence of pain. Despite widespread adoption of programmes such as the Nordic hamstring exercise, compliance remains variable. Recent consensus classification systems have refined grading of injury severity and informed tailored rehabilitation pathways. Globally, integrating biomechanical insights, individual risk profiling and evidence‐based exercise prescription has driven reductions in hamstring injury incidence and recurrence, supporting sustained athlete health and performance across sporting contexts.
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Hamstring Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation in Sports publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in hamstring injury prevention and rehabilitation in sports across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Eccentric contraction: Muscle action while lengthening under load, critical for hamstring strengthening and injury prevention.
Fascicle length: The length of a bundle of muscle fibres; increases are linked to reduced injury risk.
Intramuscular tendon (IMT): The internal connective tissue within the muscle; lesions here often require extended rehabilitation.
Mechanical strain: Deformation of muscle tissue under load; excessive strain can precipitate hamstring tears.
Return‐to‐play criteria: Objective measures of strength, flexibility and functional performance used to clear athletes for competition.
References
- Exploring the Role of Sprint Biomechanics in Hamstring Strain Injuries: A Current Opinion on Existing Concepts and Evidence. Sports Medicine (2023).
- Multi-Modal Approach to Mitigating Hamstring Injuries in Division I College Football Athletes. Encyclopedia (2024).
- Intramuscular Tendon Injuries of the Hamstring Muscles: A More Severe Variant? A Narrative Review. Sports Medicine - Open (2023).
- Terminology and classification of muscle injuries in sport: The Munich consensus statement. British Journal of Sports Medicine (2012).
- Injury risk factors, screening tests and preventative strategies: a systematic review of the evidence that underpins the perceptions and practices of 44 football (soccer) teams from various premier leagues. British Journal of Sports Medicine (2015).
- The mechanism of hamstring injuries – a systematic review. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders (2020).
- Return to Play After Hamstring Injuries: A Qualitative Systematic Review of Definitions and Criteria. Sports Medicine (2016).
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