Low Horizontal Force Production Capacity during Sprinting as a Potential Risk Factor of Hamstring Injury in Football.

Pascal Edouard,Johan Lahti,Jurdan Mendiguchia,Kenny Guex,Matt Brughelli,Ryu Nagahara,Pierre Samozino,Jérémy Rossi,Laurent Navarro,Jean-Benoît Morin

doi:10.3390/ijerph18157827

Abstract

Clear decreases in horizontal force production capacity during sprint acceleration have been reported after hamstring injuries (HI) in football players. We hypothesized that lower FH0 is associated with a higher HI occurrence in football players. We aimed to analyze the association between sprint running horizontal force production capacities at low (FH0) and high (V0) velocities, and HI occurrence in football. This prospective cohort study included 284 football players over one season. All players performed 30 m field sprints at the beginning and different times during the season. Sprint velocity data were used to compute sprint mechanical properties. Players’ injury data were prospectively collected during the entire season. Cox regression analyses were performed using new HI as the outcome, and horizontal force production capacity (FH0 and V0) was used at the start of the season (model 1) and at each measurement time point within the season (model 2) as explanatory variables, adjusted for individual players’ (model 2) age, geographical group of players, height, body mass, and previous HI, with cumulative hours of football practice as the time scale. A total of 47 new HI (20% of all injuries) were observed in 38 out of 284 players (13%). There were no associations between FH0 and/or V0 values at the start of the season and new HI occurrence during the season (model 1). During the season, a total of 801 measurements were performed, from one to six per player. Lower measured FH0 values were significantly associated with a higher risk of sustaining HI within the weeks following sprint measurement (HR = 2.67 (95% CI: 1.51 to 4.73), p < 0.001) (model 2). In conclusion, low horizontal force production capacities at low velocity during early sprint acceleration (FH0) may be considered as a potential additional factor associated with HI risk in a comprehensive, multifactorial, and individualized approach.

Highlights

Hamstring injuries are the most prevalent injuries in football, with an average of 22% of players sustaining at least one hamstring injury during a season [1]
Given the fact that analyses using the measurement performed at the beginning of the season were not significant, while using all measurements throughout the season revealed a significant association with new HMI; we suggest that individual sprint acceleration mechanical outputs should be assessed regularly during the season
This prospective cohort study provides a new step in hamstring injury management by reporting a potential new hamstring injury risk factor and showing an interest of analyzing sprint acceleration mechanical outputs

Summary

Introduction

Hamstring injuries are the most prevalent injuries in football (soccer), with an average of 22% of players sustaining at least one hamstring injury during a season [1]. It seems logical to expect sprinting to be a key parameter in football from both performance and hamstring injury prevention perspectives. Sprint acceleration performance has been shown to be associated with the ability to produce and apply high levels of force in the horizontal direction over the entire acceleration [3]. This ability is well described by a macroscopic linear relationship between horizontal force and velocity obtained during sprint acceleration (i.e., F-v relationship) [4,5].

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