Preventing Hamstring Injuries

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With autumn approaching, many people will be returning to the soccer field. This intense sport requires players to be in top physical form to play well. Maintaining physical fitness can also help prevent injuries while playing soccer. While not all injuries can be prevented, proper training may help to reduce the number and severity of injuries incurred. Hamstring strains are a common soccer injury. Running, sliding, and kicking all place a great amount of stress on the knee and on the supporting ligaments and muscles. One of the functions of the hamstring muscle is to bend the knee.

In high velocity sports like soccer, the hamstring muscle also helps control the forces on the knee while it straightens. This can put a great amount of tension on the muscle, and it is thought that these high tension forces can lead to muscle strains. A recent study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine examined a specific type of exercise to prevent hamstring strains. The researchers found that players performing eccentric hamstring exercises had significantly fewer acute and recurrent hamstring injuries than players who did not add eccentric hamstring exercises to their training regimen. What are eccentric exercises ? An eccentric contraction is a muscle contraction that occurs while the muscle is lengthening. To illustrate an eccentric muscle contraction, bend your elbow. Now hold something heavy, like a gallon of milk, and slowly allow your arm to straighten. The bicep muscle in the front of your arm had to lengthen while performing the contraction. That is an eccentric contraction. By training the hamstring muscle eccentrically, it may be possible to reduce your chance of injuring the hamstring during high demand sports like soccer. Talk to your doctor or physical therapist to learn if eccentric hamstring training is right for you