Abstract
Muscle injuries represent the most common type of injury in football, and hamstring injuries are the most common subtype, representing 12 % of all injuries. In professional football, muscle injuries represent 31 % of all injuries, causing 25 % of layoff time from training and competition. A recent study showed that a team of 25 players can expect 4–6 hamstring injuries per season (Ekstrand et al. Am J Sports Med 39:1226–1232, 2011). Referring to hamstrings, 83 % of injuries affect the biceps femoris muscle, 11 % the semimembranosus muscle, while only 5 % the semitendinosus (Hallén and Ekstrand J Sports Sci 32:1229–1236, 2014). Even if the influence of this kind of injury has been very widely studied in professional sports, especially in football, this issue is also impacting on competitive (lower divisions) and recreational athletes, both in football and other sports, especially rugby, dancing and track and field (Askling et al. Am J Sports Med 36(9):1799–1804, 2008). One of the most challenging aspects of hamstring injuries is the high rate of recurrence (12–43 % reported in recent literature), which probably indicates inadequate rehabilitation programme and/or a premature return to sport.
Despite their clinical relevance, the treatment of these injuries is still controversial and often empirical. We think that a proper approach should be based on a clear understanding of the injury mechanism, a quick and correct diagnosis, a well-planned recovery programme and a safe return to sport strategy.
The aim of this chapter is to go through all the aspects of hamstring disorders, from the injury to return to play and reinjury prevention.
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Nanni, G., Villa, F.D., Ricci, M., Rizzo, D., Villa, S.D. (2016). Hamstring Injuries. In: Volpi, P. (eds) Arthroscopy and Sport Injuries. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14815-1_13
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-14815-1_13
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