scholarly journals Return to play after hamstring injuries in football (soccer): a worldwide Delphi procedure regarding definition, medical criteria and decision-making

2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (22) ◽  
pp. 1583-1591 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick van der Horst ◽  
FJG Backx ◽  
Edwin A Goedhart ◽  
Bionka MA Huisstede

There are three major questions about return to play (RTP) after hamstring injuries: How should RTP be defined? Which medical criteria should support the RTP decision? And who should make the RTP decision? The study aimed to provide a clear RTP definition and medical criteria for RTP and to clarify RTP consultation and responsibilities after hamstring injury. The study used the Delphi procedure. The results of a systematic review were used as a starting point for the Delphi procedure. Fifty-eight experts in the field of hamstring injury management selected by 28 FIFA Medical Centres of Excellence worldwide participated. Each Delphi round consisted of a questionnaire, an analysis and an anonymised feedback report. After four Delphi rounds, with more than 83% response for each round, consensus was achieved that RTP should be defined as ‘the moment a player has received criteria-based medical clearance and is mentally ready for full availability for match selection and/or full training’. The experts reached consensus on the following criteria to support the RTP decision: medical staff clearance, absence of pain on palpation, absence of pain during strength and flexibility testing, absence of pain during/after functional testing, similar hamstring flexibility, performance on field testing, and psychological readiness. It was also agreed that RTP decisions should be based on shared decision-making, primarily via consultation with the athlete, sports physician, physiotherapist, fitness trainer and team coach. The consensus regarding aspects of RTP should provide clarity and facilitate the assessment of when RTP is appropriate after hamstring injury, so as to avoid or reduce the risk of injury recurrence because of a premature RTP.

2019 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 829-840 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Dunlop ◽  
Clare L. Ardern ◽  
Thor Einar Andersen ◽  
Colin Lewin ◽  
Gregory Dupont ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Return-to-play (RTP) is an on-going challenge in professional football. Return-to-play related research is increasing. However, it is unknown to what extent the recommendations presented within research are being implemented by professional football teams, and where there are gaps between research and practice. The purposes of this study were (1) to determine if premier-league football teams worldwide follow a RTP continuum, (2) to identify RTP criteria used and (3) to understand how RTP decision-making occurs in applied practice. Methods We sent a structured online survey to practitioners responsible for the RTP programme in 310 professional teams from 34 premier-leagues worldwide. The survey comprised four sections, based on hamstring muscle injury: (1) criteria used throughout RTP phases, (2) the frequency with which progression criteria were achieved, (3) RTP decision-making process and (4) challenges to decision-making. Results One-hundred and thirty-one teams responded with a completed survey (42%). One-hundred and twenty-four teams (95%) used a continuum to guide RTP, assessing a combination of clinical, functional and psychological criteria to inform decisions to progress. One-hundred and five (80%) teams reported using a shared decision-making approach considering the input of multiple stakeholders. Team hierarchy, match- and player-related factors were common challenges perceived to influence decision-making. Conclusions General research recommendations for RTP and the beliefs and practices of practitioners appear to match with, the majority of teams assessing functional, clinical and psychological criteria throughout a RTP continuum to inform decision-making which is also shared among key stakeholders. However, specific criteria, metrics and thresholds used, and the specific involvement, dynamics and interactions of staff during decision-making are not clear.


2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mitchell C.M. van Doormaal ◽  
Nick van der Horst ◽  
Frank J.G. Backx ◽  
Dirk-Wouter Smits ◽  
Bionka M.A. Huisstede

Background: In soccer, although hamstring flexibility is thought to play a major role in preventing hamstring injuries, the relationship between hamstring flexibility and hamstring injuries remains unclear. Purpose: To investigate the relationship between hamstring flexibility and hamstring injuries in male amateur soccer players. Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: This study included 450 male first-class amateur soccer players (mean age, 24.5 years). Hamstring flexibility was measured by performing the sit-and-reach test (SRT). The relationship between hamstring flexibility and the occurrence of hamstring injuries in the following year, while adjusting for the possible confounding effects of age and previous hamstring injuries, was determined with a multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: Of the 450 soccer players, 21.8% reported a hamstring injury in the previous year. The mean (±SD) baseline score for the SRT was 21.2 ± 9.2 cm. During the 1-year follow-up period, 23 participants (5.1%) suffered a hamstring injury. In the multivariate analysis, while adjusting for age and previous injuries, no significant relationship was found between hamstring flexibility and hamstring injuries ( P = .493). Conclusion: In this group of soccer players, hamstring flexibility (measured with the SRT) was not related to hamstring injuries. Age and previous hamstring injuries as possible confounders did not appear to influence this relationship. Other etiological factors need to be examined to further elucidate the mechanism of hamstring injuries.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 232596712110538
Author(s):  
Samuel S. Rudisill ◽  
Michael P. Kucharik ◽  
Nathan H. Varady ◽  
Scott D. Martin

Background: Considering the lengthy recovery and high recurrence risk after a hamstring injury, effective rehabilitation and accurate prognosis are fundamental to timely and safe return to play (RTP) for athletes. Purpose: To analyze methods of rehabilitation for acute proximal and muscular hamstring injuries and summarize prognostic factors associated with RTP. Study Design: Systematic review; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: In August 2020, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and SPORTDiscus were queried for studies examining management and factors affecting RTP after acute hamstring injury. Included were randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, case-control studies, and case series appraising treatment effects on RTP, reinjury rate, strength, flexibility, hamstrings-to-quadriceps ratio, or functional assessment, as well as studies associating clinical and magnetic resonance imaging factors with RTP. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk-of-Bias Tool for Randomized Trials or the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS). Results: Of 1289 identified articles, 75 were included. The comparative and noncomparative studies earned MINORS scores of 18.8 ± 1.3 and 11.4 ± 3.4, respectively, and 12 of the 17 randomized controlled trials exhibited low risk of bias. Collectively, studies of muscular injury included younger patients and a greater proportion of male athletes compared with studies of proximal injury. Surgery for proximal hamstring ruptures achieved superior outcomes to nonoperative treatment, whereas physiotherapy incorporating eccentric training, progressive agility, and trunk stabilization restored function and hastened RTP after muscular injuries. Platelet-rich plasma injection for muscular injury yielded inconsistent results. The following initial clinical findings were associated with delayed RTP: greater passive knee extension of the uninjured leg, greater knee extension peak torque angle, biceps femoris injury, greater pain at injury and initial examination, “popping” sound, bruising, and pain on resisted knee flexion. Imaging factors associated with delayed RTP included magnetic resonance imaging-positive injury, longer lesion relative to patient height, greater muscle/tendon involvement, complete central tendon or myotendinous junction rupture, and greater number of muscles injured. Conclusion: Surgery enabled earlier RTP and improved strength and flexibility for proximal hamstring injuries, while muscular injuries were effectively managed nonoperatively. Rehabilitation and athlete expectations may be managed by considering several suitable prognostic factors derived from initial clinical and imaging examination.


Joints ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gian Nicola Bisciotti ◽  
Karim Chamari ◽  
Emanuele Cena ◽  
Giulia Carimati ◽  
Alessandro Bisciotti ◽  
...  

AbstractHamstring injuries and reinjuries are one of the most important sport lesions in several sport activities including soccer, Australian football, track and field, rugby, and in general in all sport activities requiring sprinting and acceleration. However, it is important to distinguish between the lesions of the biceps femoris and semitendinosus and semimembranosus. Indeed, three muscles representing the hamstring complex have a very different injury etiology and consequently require different prevention strategies. This fact may explain, at least in part, the high incidence of reinjuries. In soccer, hamstring injuries cause an important rate of time loss (i.e., in average 15–21 matches missed per club per season). The hamstring injury risk factors may be subdivided in three categories: “primary injury risk factors” (i.e., the risk factors mainly causing a first lesion), “recurrent injury risk factors” (i.e., the risk that can cause a reinjury), and bivalent injury risk factors” (i.e., the risk factors that can cause both primary injuries and reinjuries). The high incidence of hamstring lesions caused consequently an important increase in hamstring injury research. However, although the prevention has increased paradoxically, epidemiological data do not show a loss in injuries and/or reinjuries but, on the contrary, they show an increase in hamstring injuries. This apparent paradox highlights the importance both of the improvement in the prevention programs quality and the criteria for return to play after hamstring injury.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (7_suppl5) ◽  
pp. 2325967119S0042
Author(s):  
Justin W. Arner ◽  
Tracye J. Lawyer ◽  
Craig Stephen Mauro ◽  
James P. Bradley

Objectives: Hamstring injuries are common in professional athletes and subsequent delays in healing are common, costly, and even career ending. The efficacy of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for augmentation of non-operative treatment of partial musculotendinous hamstring injuries has not yet been established. Methods: NFL players from a single team who sustained acute grade 2 hamstring injuries as diagnosed on MRI by a musculoskeletal radiologist from 2009 to 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Average days, practices, and games missed were recorded. Players that did and did not receive PRP injections were compared. Those who received PRP did so within 24 to 48 hours after injury. Results: Ninety-four NFL players had MRI evidence of a hamstring injury, while 61 athletes sustained grade 2 injuries. Thirty-one were treated with PRP injections and 30 were not. Average time missed in those treated with PRP injections was 22.4 days, 18.5 practices, and 1.7 games. In those who did not receive PRP injections, time missed was 25.8 days (p = 0.81), 22.2 practices (p = 0.68), and 2.7 games (p < 0.05). Conclusion: PRP injection treatment for acute grade 2 hamstring injuries in NFL players allows for faster return to play with a 1 game overall difference. Due to the possible large financial impact of return to play 1 game sooner, PRP injections for treatment of grade 2 hamstring injuries may be advantageous in professional athletes. Additional evaluation of PRP treatment of acute hamstring injuries in a larger cohort is necessary.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergio Jiménez-Rubio ◽  
Archit Navandar ◽  
Jesús Rivilla-García ◽  
Victor Paredes-Hernández

Context: Despite the presence of various injury prevention programs, the rate of hamstring injuries and reinjuries is increasing in soccer, warranting the need for a soccer-specific rehabilitation program. Objective: To develop and validate a new, functional on-field program for the rehabilitation and readaptation of soccer players after a hamstring strain injury through a panel of experts; and determine the usefulness of the program through its application in professional soccer players. Design: A 13-item program was developed, which was validated by a panel of experts and later applied to professional soccer players. Setting: Soccer training ground. Participants: Fifteen strength and conditioning and rehabilitation fitness coaches with a professional experience of 15.40 (1.57) years in elite clubs and national teams in Europe validated the program. The program was later applied to 19 professional soccer players of the Spanish First Division (La Liga). Interventions: Once a player sustained a clinically diagnosed injury, the player would first be subject to mobilization and strengthening exercises in the gym after undergoing treatment by percutaneous needle electrolysis. The player would then complete an on-field readaptation program consisting of 13 drills arranged in a progressive manner in terms of complexity. The drills integrated various aspects of repeated sprint abilities, retraining and reeducation of biomechanical patterns, and neuromuscular control of the core and lower limbs. Main Outcome Measures: Aiken’s V for each item of the program and number of days taken by the players to return to play. Results: The experts evaluated all items of the program very highly, as seen from Aiken’s V values between 0.78 and 0.98 (0.63–0.99) for all drills, while the return to play was in 22.42 (2.32) days. Conclusion: This program has the potential to help a player suffering from a hamstring strain injury to adapt to real-match conditions in the readaptation phase through the application of sports-specific drills that were very similar to the different injury mechanisms.


2021 ◽  
pp. bjsports-2020-103791
Author(s):  
Noel Pollock ◽  
Shane Kelly ◽  
Justin Lee ◽  
Ben Stone ◽  
Michael Giakoumis ◽  
...  

ObjectivesThe British Athletics Muscle Injury Classification (BAMIC) correlates with return to play in muscle injury. The aim of this study was to examine hamstring injury diagnoses and outcomes within elite track and field athletes following implementation of the British Athletics hamstring rehabilitation approach.MethodsAll hamstring injuries sustained by elite track and field athletes on the British Athletics World Class Programme between December 2015 and November 2019 that underwent an MRI and had British Athletics medical team prescribed rehabilitation were included. Athlete demographics and specific injury details, including mechanism of injury, self-reported gait phase, MRI characteristics and time to return to full training (TRFT) were contemporaneously recorded.Results70 hamstring injuries in 46 athletes (24 women and 22 men, 24.6±3.7 years) were included. BAMIC grade and the intratendon c classification correlated with increased TRFT. Mean TRFT was 18.6 days for the entire cohort. Mean TRFT for intratendon classifications was 34±7 days (2c) and 48±17 days (3c). The overall reinjury rate was 2.9% and no reinjuries were sustained in the intratendon classifications. MRI variables of length and cross-sectional (CSA) area of muscle oedema, CSA of tendon injury and loss of tendon tension were associated with TRFT. Longitudinal length of tendon injury, in the intratendon classes, was not associated with TRFT.ConclusionThe application of BAMIC to inform hamstring rehabilitation in British Athletics results in low reinjury rates and favourable TRFT following hamstring injury. The key MRI variables associated with longer recovery are length and CSA of muscle oedema, CSA of tendon injury and loss of tendon tension.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 232596712091173 ◽  
Author(s):  
James P. Bradley ◽  
Tracye J. Lawyer ◽  
Sonia Ruef ◽  
Jeffrey D. Towers ◽  
Justin W. Arner

Background: Hamstring injuries are prevalent in professional athletes and can lead to significant time loss, with recurrent injury being common. The efficacy of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) for augmentation of nonoperative treatment of partial musculotendinous hamstring injuries is not well established. Hypothesis: The addition of PRP injections to nonoperative treatment for acute partial musculotendinous hamstring injuries will lead to a shortened return to play in National Football League (NFL) players. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: NFL players from a single team who sustained acute grade 2 hamstring injuries, as diagnosed on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by a musculoskeletal radiologist from 2009 to 2018, were retrospectively reviewed. Average days, practices, and games missed were recorded. Players who did and did not receive PRP (leukocyte-poor) injections were compared. Those who received PRP did so within 24 to 48 hours after injury. Results: A total of 108 NFL players had MRI evidence of a hamstring injury, and of those, 69 athletes sustained grade 2 injuries. Thirty players received augmented treatment with PRP injections and 39 players underwent nonoperative treatment alone. Average time missed in those treated with PRP injections was 22.5 days, 18.2 practices, and 1.3 games. In those who did not receive PRP injections, time missed was 25.7 days ( P = .81), 22.8 practices ( P = .68), and 2.9 games ( P < .05). Conclusion: Augmentation with PRP injections for acute grade 2 hamstring injuries in NFL players showed no significant difference in days missed or time to return to practice but did allow for faster return to play, with a 1 game overall difference. Owing to the possible large financial impact of returning to play 1 game sooner, PRP injections for treatment of grade 2 hamstring injuries may be advantageous in professional athletes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (7) ◽  
pp. 677-681
Author(s):  
Siobhán O’Connor ◽  
Noel McCaffrey ◽  
Enda F. Whyte ◽  
Michael Fop ◽  
Brendan Murphy ◽  
...  

Context:Hamstring injuries are a leading cause of injury in Gaelic games. Hamstring flexibility as a risk factor for hamstring injury has not yet been examined prospectively in Gaelic games.Objective:To examine whether hamstring flexibility, using the modified active knee extension (AKE) test, and previous injury are risk factors for hamstring injury in Gaelic players and to generate population-specific AKE cutoff points.Design:Prospective cohort study.Setting:School and colleges.Patients (or Other Participants):Adolescent and collegiate Gaelic footballers and hurlers (n = 570).Intervention(s):The modified AKE test was completed at preseason, and hamstring injuries were assessed over the course of one season. Any previous hamstring injuries were noted in those who presented with a hamstring injury.Main Outcome Measures:Bilateral AKE scores and between-leg asymmetries were recorded. Receiver operating characteristic curves were implemented to generate cutoff points specific to Gaelic players. Univariate and backward stepwise logistic regression analyses were completed to predict hamstring injuries, hamstring injuries on the dominant leg, and hamstring injuries on the nondominant leg.Results:Mean flexibility of 64.2° (12.3°) and 64.1° (12.4°) was noted on the dominant and nondominant leg, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic curves generated a cutoff point of < 65° in the AKE on the nondominant leg only. When controlled for age, AKE on the nondominant leg was the only predictor variable left in the multivariate model (odds ratio = 1.03) and significantly predicted hamstring injury (χ2 = 9.20,P = .01). However, the sensitivity was 0% and predicted the same amount of cases as the null model. It was not possible to generate a significant model for hamstring injuries on the dominant leg (P > .05), and no variables generated aPvalue < .20 in the univariate analysis on the nondominant leg.Conclusions:Poor flexibility noted in the AKE test during preseason screening and previous injury were unable to predict those at risk of sustaining a hamstring strain in Gaelic games with adequate sensitivity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-66
Author(s):  
Zsuzsanna Gödör ◽  
Georgina Szabó

Abstract As they say, money can’t buy happiness. However, the lack of it can make people’s lives much harder. From the moment we open our first bank account, we have to make lots of financial decisions in our life. Should I save some money or should I spend it? Is it a good idea to ask for a loan? How to invest my money? When we make such decisions, unfortunately we sometimes make mistakes, too. In this study, we selected seven common decision making biases - anchoring and adjustment, overconfidence, high optimism, the law of small numbers, framing effect, disposition effect and gambler’s fallacy – and tested them on the Hungarian population via an online survey. In the focus of our study was the question whether the presence of economic knowledge helps people make better decisions? The decision making biases found in literature mostly appeared in the sample as well. It proves that people do apply them when making decisions and in certain cases this could result in serious and costly errors. That’s why it would be absolutely important for people to learn about them, thus increasing their awareness and attention when making decisions. Furthermore, in our research we did find some connection between decisions and the knowledge of economics, people with some knowledge of economics opted for the better solution in bigger proportion


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