Knee Flexor Eccentric Strength, Hamstring Muscle Volume and Sprinting in Elite Professional Soccer Players with a Prior Strained Hamstring

The aim was to determine if players with a prior hamstring strain injury (HSI) exhibit bilateral deficits in knee flexor eccentric strength and hamstring muscle volume and differences in sprinting performance compared with players without a history of HSIs. Forty-six male professional soccer players participated in this study. Eccentric knee flexor strength, hamstring muscle volume (MRI), and a 20-m running sprint test (5- and 10-m split time) were assessed at the start of the preseason. Eccentric knee strength of the previously injured limbs of injured players was greater (ES: 1.18–1.36) than the uninjured limbs in uninjured players. Previously injured limbs showed possibly larger biceps femoris short heads (BFSh) and likely semitendinosus (ST) muscle volumes than the contralateral uninjured limbs among the injured players (ES: 0.36) and the limbs of the uninjured players (ES: 0.56), respectively. Players who had experienced a previous HSI were possibly slower in the 5-m (small ES: 0.46), while unclear differences were found in both the 10-m and 20-m times. Players with a prior HSI displayed greater eccentric knee flexor strength, possibly relatively hypertrophied ST and BFSh muscles, and possibly reduced 5-m sprinting performances than previously uninjured players. This can have implication for the design of secondary hamstring muscle injury prevention strategies.

IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF NEURAL MOBILIZATION ON HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY AND FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE AMONG FOOTBALL PLAYERS IN VADODARA

Background: Hamstring muscle injuries are a common occurrence in a wide range of sprint-based sports which accounts about 13-15% of injuries in football players. The predisposing factors for it are poor hamstring flexibility & neural tension. Epidemiological research has cited reduced flexibility as an etiological factor in acute muscle strain injury and can influence functional performance. To prevent hamstring muscle injury, routine traditional intervention is used. Neural mobilization has been an emerging technique but its research on sports field is very limited. Thus, the need of the study was to examine the immediate effect of neural mobilization on hamstring flexibility and Functional performance using this new technique and also to prevent/decrease the risk of hamstring muscle injury. To Aim: evaluate the immediate effect of Sciatic Neural Mobilization technique on Hamstring Flexibility and Functional Performance among Football Players in Vadodara. Methodology: 48 Male Football Players who met the Inclusion Criteria were recruited from Baroda Football Academy (BFA) and Swarnim Gujarat Sports University (SGSU). There was a short session of 3 minutes warm up. The Baseline and post-intervention data collection was done in a sequential order (Bilateral Hamstring Flexibility, Vertical jump test, Four-Line Sprint Test) in which in between Vertical jump & Four-Line Sprint Test 5 minutes break was provided to avoid fatigue. Following 5 minutes break, Sciatic neural sliding mobilization was given for bilateral lower limb to participants by physiotherapist. The Data were analyzed using Result: Paired t- Test, and there was statistically significant improvement in all the three outcome measures (P = < 0.001) Conclusion: The present study showed that sciatic neural mobilization had a Positive effect on hamstring flexibility and functional performance among Football Players in Vadodara.