Field hockey is a demanding sport that requires a combination of endurance and explosive movements such as quick directional changes and efforts of high-speed running. Unfortunately, hamstring injuries are a common injury among field hockey players and can significantly impact their playing time and performance. This blog looks to provide valuable insights into prevention strategies specifically tailored to field hockey players using the latest evidence.
What is the hamstring?
The hamstring refers to a group of three muscles located in the posterior thigh: semitendinosus, semimembranosus, and biceps femoris.
There are 2 types of hamstring injuries:
Hamstring strains typically occur during:
Hamstring strains typically occur during:
- Sprinting (Type 1): Either during acceleration/deceleration movements or whilst performing high speed running. Typically, injuries biceps femoris.
- Stretching (Type 2): During a movement such as lunging (reaching for the ball) or kicking (goalies trying to make a save with their kickers). Commonly injuries semimembranosus.
(Skelian, 2015)
What are factors impact hamstring injury recovery?
- Stretch related (Type 2) injuries can take longer.
- Location – injuries higher to the hamstring can take longer.
- High levels of pain at the time of the injury have been shown to lead to longer recovery.
- Time to walk pain free – longer than 1 day has been to being 4x more likely to take longer than 3 weeks to return to play.
- Time to jog pain free – longer than 5 days is likely to take longer than 4 weeks to return.
Each of these factors will affect your recovery in some way. At SRP, we can help you identify these factors to optimise your recovery.
What does the current evidence suggest?
While limited high-level evidence specific to field hockey exists, research in soccer, which shares similarities with field hockey, provides valuable insights. Current evidence has shifted away from the ideal of lots of stretching and instead focuses on eccentric movement. An eccentric movement is the lengthening on an active muscle while its being loaded, think of the lowering action when performing a bicep curl with a weight. The use eccentric exercises have shown promising results in reducing hamstring injuries by up to 51%.
When returning to sport after a hamstring injury, approximately 1 in 3 individuals may experience a re-injury. It is important to consider proper management and appropriate rehabilitation protocols to minimise the risk of re-injury and ensure a safe return to play. At SRP, we can give you a specific graduated eccentric exercise programme aiming to prevent hamstring injuries and keep you moving.
Take-Home messages
Preventing hamstring injuries is crucial for field hockey players to maintain their performance and minimise time off the field. Implementing evidence-based strategies, such as eccentric exercises, has shown promising in reducing hamstring injuries by up to 51%. At SRP our physios will assist you in appropriate management when necessary and provide an individually tailored exercise programs to optimise performance and prevent future injuries.
If you’ve had a hamstring injury and are looking to begin your rehabilitation journey, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today!
References:
Chu, S. K., & Rho, M. E. (2016). Hamstring Injuries in the Athlete: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Return to Play. Current sports medicine reports, 15(3), 184–190. https://doi.org/10.1249/JSR.0000000000000264
Biz, C., Nicoletti, P., Baldin, G., Bragazzi, N. L., Crimì, A., & Ruggieri, P. (2021). Hamstring strain injury (HSI) prevention in professional and semi-professional football teams: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(16), 8272. doi:10.3390/ijerph18168272
Rudisill, S. S., Kucharik, M. P., Varady, N. H., & Martin, S. D. (2021). Evidence-based management and factors associated with return to play after acute hamstring injury in athletes: A systematic review. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 9(11), 232596712110538. doi:10.1177/23259671211053833
(Image) Skelian. (2015). Hamstring. Retrieved from https://www.skelian.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/rendered.jpg
Martin, R. L., Cibulka, M. T., Bolgla, L. A., Koc, T. A., Loudon, J. K., Manske, R. C., … Heiderscheit, B. C. (2022). Hamstring strain injury in athletes. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 52(3). doi:10.2519/jospt.2022.0301
