The effects of eccentric resistive exercise in preventing hamstring strain injuries in professional football players

Abstract

Background: Hamstring strain injuries are the most common injury in football, with a high recurrence rate. Over the past years, the incidence rate of hamstring injuries has increased, contributing to a higher percentage of all-time loss injuries. Current literature is unclear about which treatment and prevention protocols are the most effective at treating this type of injury and reducing its recurrence rate. Research question: Does Eccentric Resistive exercise compared to stretching lead to a better recovery and reduction in pain in footballers with hamstring injuries? The method used to formulate this research was a PICO framework (Population, Intervention, Comparison and Outcome). Search Method: In this dissertation, a systematic literature search was carried out using numerous online databases. An inclusion and exclusion criteria was also formulated to help identify which studies are the best to answer the research question. Furthermore, limiters were also applied to choose the appropriate studies from the search process (EBSCO (2018)). From the search process, 5 main studies were selected, 2 SRs, 1 RCT, 1 cohort study and 1 Delphi survey. All the studies included investigated the best treatment protocols for treating hamstring strain injuries. Results: The studies included in this literature review all concluded that eccentric training is one of the most effective and reliable exercises to treat hamstring injuries and reduce the recurrence rate. The 2 SRs also concluded that stretching exercises are not beneficial in treating hamstring injuries but are effective in increasing the ROM of an injured joint. Conclusion: The findings of this literature review suggest that eccentric training is more reliable and effective at treating and preventing hamstring strain injuries compared to stretching exercises.