The effects of eccentric hamstring exercise training in young female handball players

Márk Váczi,Balázs Sebesi,Gábor Fazekas,Alexandra Cselkó,József Tihanyi,Lukasz Trzaskoma,Tamás Pilissy

doi:10.1007/s00421-022-04888-5

Abstract

PurposeThe multidimensional role of hamstring muscle group strength in athletic performance and injury prevention is well documented, and nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) is a popular method for the development of hamstring strength. Our aim was to examine the EMG characteristics of the eccentric NHE as well as the effects of long-term eccentric NHE training on muscle strength and vertical jump performance in 10- to 11-year-old female handball players.MethodsPlayers from the same handball team were randomly assigned to an eccentric NHE training (13 players) or a control group (10 players). Both groups continued their regular handball training routine, but the NHE group performed additional eccentric NHE exercises once or twice a week, with progressively increasing volume, over 20 weeks. To test training effects, countermovement jump (CMJ) height, eccentric hamstring impulse, peak torque, and angle of peak torque were evaluated before, during and after the training period. In the pre-exercise test, EMG activity of the medial and lateral hamstring muscle was also assessed during NHE.ResultsHamstring activities ranged between 98 and 129%. Lateral hamstring activity was greater than medial only in the right leg during NHE. Eccentric hamstring impulse improved in both legs at 10 weeks in both groups. Then, at 20 weeks, it remained unchanged in the NHE but decreased in controls. A similar adaptation was seen in eccentric hamstring torque, without change in the optimum knee angle. CMJ height improved only in the NHE.ConclusionIt is concluded that NHE activates the hamstring musculature effectively, and a favourable mechanical adaptation to long-term NHE exercise in girls can be triggered as early as 11 years of age.

Highlights

The multidimensional role of hamstring strength in athletic performance is well understood, and the direct contribution of hamstring strength to athletic skills such as sprinting and jumping has been demonstrated in several investigations (Soylu et al 2020; Markovic et al 2020)
These findings suggest that hamstring strengthening is necessary in the prevention of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and hamstring strain injury (HSI) in girls, which should start as early as at 11 years of age; and yet, information on the effectiveness of hamstring exercise training is limited to the adult and youth athletic populations (Freeman et al 2019; Mendiguchia et al 2020) or boys (Tansel et al 2008)
There was no difference in eccentric hamstring strength between groups at Pre in comparison to 20 wk (ES = 1.46) in the right limb. These findings suggest that nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) training was effective in increasing eccentric hamstrings strength, and regular handball training might not be sufficient to maintain the strength gains elicited by its multimodal training stimuli during the preparation phase

Summary

Introduction

The multidimensional role of hamstring strength in athletic performance is well understood, and the direct contribution of hamstring strength to athletic skills such as sprinting and jumping has been demonstrated in several investigations (Soylu et al 2020; Markovic et al 2020). Hamstring weakness has been suggested to increase the risks of hamstring strain injury (HSI), a typical sport injury, which incurs in sports with high sprint speed demands and/ or concurrent extreme muscle stretch, such as athletics and ball games (Lee et al 2018). ACL injury risk starts to increase at 12–13 years of age in girls (Granan et al 2009). Reduced hamstring to quadriceps ratio augments the risks for HSI These findings suggest that hamstring strengthening is necessary in the prevention of ACL injury and HSI in girls, which should start as early as at 11 years of age; and yet, information on the effectiveness of hamstring exercise training is limited to the adult and youth athletic populations (Freeman et al 2019; Mendiguchia et al 2020) or boys (Tansel et al 2008)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion