Prevention of hamstring muscle injuries in professional football. Proposed intervention

Abstract

Football is the sport with the highest rate of injuries. The hamstring is the most affected, accounting for 30% of all injuries. Our aim was to develop an injury prevention program to minimize the risk of injury, and compare the results obtained with the two previous seasons. At this point, a total of 20 first division players (LFP) conducted a prevention program throughout the season of 2011/12. We chose players aged 18 years to complete a circuit with the following schedule of work; 20 minute of exercise, 10 minute of rest, change of exercise . As the results were collected 18 total muscle injuries, 16 during the competition (89%). Of the 18, 6 were produced in the hamstring muscles (33%), all within a sprinting action. Finally, of the six players injured, five suffered previous injury of the hamstrings (83%). We conclude that the application of a specific prevention program combining strength training (notably eccentric), RSPM and flexibility in a professional football team, could decrease the number of hamstring injuries, besides acting as adjunctive therapy for other structures.