Acute hamstring injuries in Swedish elite football: a prospective randomised controlled clinical trial comparing two rehabilitation protocols
PainSci summary of Askling 2013?This page is one of thousands in the PainScience.com bibliography. It is not a general article: it is focused on a single scientific paper, and it may provide only just enough context for the summary to make sense. Links to other papers and more general information are provided at the bottom of the page, as often as possible. ★★★★☆?4-star ratings are for bigger/better studies and reviews published in more prestigious journals, with only quibbles. Ratings are a highly subjective opinion, and subject to revision at any time. If you think this paper has been incorrectly rated, please let me know.
This study compared a protocol with conventional exercises with a protocol based on eccentric exercises combined with dynamic stretching. Read more.
original abstract†Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
BACKGROUND: Hamstring injury is the single most common injury in European professional football and, therefore, time to return and secondary prevention are of particular concern.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of two rehabilitation protocols after acute hamstring injury in Swedish elite football players by evaluating time needed to return to full participation in football team-training and availability for match selection.
STUDY DESIGN: Prospective randomised comparison of two rehabilitation protocols.
METHODS: Seventy-five football players with an acute hamstring injury, verified by MRI, were randomly assigned to one of two rehabilitation protocols. Thirty-seven players were assigned to a protocol emphasising lengthening exercises, L-protocol and 38 players to a protocol consisting of conventional exercises, C-protocol. The outcome measure was the number of days to return to full-team training and availability for match selection. Reinjuries were registered during a period of 12 months after return.
RESULTS: Time to return was significantly shorter for the players in the L-protocol, mean 28 days (1SD±15, range 8-58 days), compared with the C-protocol, mean 51 days (1SD±21, range 12-94 days). Irrespective of protocol, stretching-type of hamstring injury took significantly longer time to return than sprinting-type, L-protocol: mean 43 vs 23 days and C-protocol: mean 74 vs 41 days, respectively. The L-protocol was significantly more effective than the C-protocol in both injury types. One reinjury was registered, in the C-protocol.
CONCLUSIONS: A rehabilitation protocol emphasising lengthening type of exercises is more effective than a protocol containing conventional exercises in promoting time to return in Swedish elite football.
related content
- “Acute hamstring injuries in Swedish elite sprinters and jumpers: a prospective randomised controlled clinical trial comparing two rehabilitation protocols,” Carl M Askling, Magnus Tengvar, Olga Tarassova, and Alf Thorstensson, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2014.
- “Efficacy of eccentric exercise in lower limb tendinopathies in athletes,” Antonio Frizziero, Filippo Vittadini, Augusto Fusco, Arrigo Giombini, and Stefano Masiero, J Sports Med Phys Fitness, 2016.
- “Do structural changes (eg, collagen/matrix) explain the response to therapeutic exercises in tendinopathy: a systematic review,” Benjamin T Drew, Toby O Smith, Chris Littlewood, and Ben Sturrock, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2014.
- “Eccentric exercises; why do they work, what are the problems and how can we improve them?,” J D Rees, R L Wolman, and A Wilson, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2009.
These two articles on PainScience.com cite Askling 2013 as a source:
- PS Save Yourself from Muscle Strain! — Muscle strain (pulled muscle) and muscle pain explained and discussed in great detail, plus every imaginable treatment option
- PS Eccentric Contraction — A weird bit of muscle physiology
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
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- Agreement of self-reported items and clinically assessed nerve root involvement (or sciatica) in a primary care setting. Konstantinou 2012 Eur Spine J.
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