Lower limb joint position sense and prospective hamstring injury.

BACKGROUND: The hamstrings remain the most injured muscle group within the Australian Football League (AFL). OBJECTIVE: To investigate preseason measures of hip and knee joint position sense (JPS) and prospective hamstring injury in AFL players. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. METHODS: A total of 116 AFL players were recruited for this study. JPS was assessed with 3-D sensors using mono-articular hip (45° flexion and 0°) and knee (90° and 45° flexion) joint reproduction tests conducted in the preseason. Hamstring injury data were collected prospectively in the following AFL season. Wilcoxon-signed rank tests were used to assess between the subsequently injured and uninjured limbs. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to assess between group differences and odds ratio (OR) were used to predict players at risk of hamstring injury. RESULTS: Eight players with JPS data sustained a season hamstring injury and 108 players did not. JPS was not significantly different between the subsequently injured and uninjured limbs (all P values > 0.05). No significant differences for any JPS measure were found between the subsequently injured and uninjured players (all p's > 0.05). ORs did not achieve significance for AE (2.7, p = 0.21) or for RMSE (OR = 1.9, p = 0.44). CONCLUSION: Lower limb JPS measures were not predictive of hamstring injury in AFL players.

A prospective study of the relationship between lower body stiffness and hamstring injury in professional Australian rules footballers.

BACKGROUND: Hamstring strains remain one of the most prevalent injuries in Australian Rules football. The authors prospectively examined the relationship between musculotendinous stiffness of the hamstring and leg stiffness with hamstring injury in professional Australian Rules footballers during the 2006 season. HYPOTHESIS: Higher hamstring stiffness and leg stiffness are related to noncontact, soft tissue hamstring injury risk in professional Australian Rules footballers. STUDY DESIGN: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: Unilateral hamstring stiffness and leg stiffness were assessed in 136 professional footballers in the month before the commencement of the competitive season. This information was then investigated relative to players who suffered noncontact, soft tissue hamstring injuries during either matches or training throughout the season to identify whether preseason stiffness was related to injury occurrence. RESULTS: Fourteen tested players recorded acute, noncontact hamstring injuries, resulting in 3.3 ± 2.8 weeks of missed match play per injury. At preseason testing, the players who ended up sustaining a hamstring injury during the season recorded significantly higher mean hamstring stiffness (11%, P = .04) and leg stiffness (5%, P = .03). When considering the injured players, the leg stiffness of the involved limb was significantly higher than the noninjured players (P = .02), whereas hamstring stiffness was significantly higher on the noninvolved limb (P = .01). Further, those players who suffered a hamstring injury were significantly older than the noninjured players (P = .01). CONCLUSION: It appears that a high bilateral hamstring stiffness and leg stiffness may be a determinant in the risk of sustaining a hamstring injury. Further, relatively lower hamstring stiffness in the involved limb of injured players appears to be associated with increased injury and may be related to a lack of strength. The information from stiffness assessment may allow medical staff to determine the hamstring risk status for individual players in team sports.