The Effect of Eccentric or Isometric Training on Strength, Architecture, and Sprinting across an Australian Football Season.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effect of an isometric (ISO) or Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) intervention, alongside a sprint training program on hamstring strength, architecture, and sprinting performance in Australian footballers.

Methods: Twenty-five male athletes undertook NHE ( n = 13) or ISO ( n = 12) training across a 38-wk period (including preseason and in season). Biceps femoris long head (BFlh) architecture, ISO, and eccentric knee flexor strength were assessed at baseline, at the end of preseason (14 wk), and at the conclusion of the intervention.

Hamstring Strain Injury Risk Factors in Australian Football Change over the Course of the Season.

Background/aim: This study aimed to determine which factors were most predictive of hamstring strain injury (HSI) during different stages of the competition in professional Australian Football.

Methods: Across two competitive seasons, eccentric knee flexor strength and biceps femoris long head architecture of 311 Australian Football players (455 player seasons) were assessed at the start and end of preseason and in the middle of the competitive season. Details of any prospective HSI were collated by medical staff of participating teams.

The Dose-Response of the Nordic Hamstring Exercise on Biceps Femoris Architecture and Eccentric Knee Flexor Strength: A Randomized Interventional Trial.

Purpose: To examine the dose-response of the Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) on biceps femoris long head (BFlh) architecture and eccentric knee flexor strength.

Design: Randomized interventional trial.

Methods: Forty recreationally active males completed a 6-week NHE training program consisting of either intermittent low volumes (group 1; n = 10), low volumes (group 2; n = 10), initial high volumes followed by low volumes (group 3; n = 10), or progressively increasing volumes (group 4; n = 10).

Prediction of Hamstring Injuries in Australian Football Using Biceps Femoris Architectural Risk Factors Derived From Soccer.

Background: Hamstring strain injuries are the most common injuries in team sports. Biceps femoris long head architecture is associated with the risk of hamstring injury in soccer. To assess the overall predictive ability of architectural variables, risk factors need to be applied to and validated across different cohorts.

Screening Hamstring Injury Risk Factors Multiple Times in a Season Does Not Improve the Identification of Future Injury Risk.

Purpose: To determine if eccentric knee flexor strength and biceps femoris long head (BFlh) fascicle length were associated with prospective hamstring strain injury (HSI) in professional Australian Football players, and if more frequent assessments of these variables altered the association with injury risk.

Methods: Across two competitive seasons, 311 Australian Football players (455 player seasons) had their eccentric knee flexor strength during the Nordic hamstring exercise and BFlh architecture assessed at the start and end of preseason and in the middle of the competitive season. Player age and injury history were also collected in preseason.

Sprinting, Strength, and Architectural Adaptations Following Hamstring Training in Australian Footballers.

The aim of this study was to determine the sprinting, strength, and architectural adaptations following a hip-dominant flywheel (FLY) or Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) intervention in Australian footballers. Twenty-seven male athletes were randomized to FLY (n = 13) or NHE (n = 14) training across a 39-week period (inclusive of pre-season and in-season). Biceps femoris long head (BFlh) architecture was assessed throughout.

Factors that Impact Self-reported Wellness Scores in Elite Australian Footballers.

Introduction: This study aimed to 1) identify the impact of external load variables on changes in wellness and 2) identify the impact of age, training/playing history, strength levels, and preseason loads on changes in wellness in elite Australian footballers.

Methods: Data were collected from one team (45 athletes) during the 2017 season. Self-reported wellness was collected daily (4, best score possible; 28, worst score possible).

Modeling the Risk of Team Sport Injuries: A Narrative Review of Different Statistical Approaches.

Injuries are a common occurrence in team sports and can have significant financial, physical and psychological consequences for athletes and their sporting organizations. As such, an abundance of research has attempted to identify factors associated with the risk of injury, which is important when developing injury prevention and risk mitigation strategies. There are a number of methods that can be used to identify injury risk factors.

Session Availability as a Result of Prior Injury Impacts the Risk of Subsequent Non-contact Lower Limb Injury in Elite Male Australian Footballers.

Prior injury is a commonly identified risk factor for subsequent injury. However, a binary approach to classifying prior injury (i.e.

Predictive Modeling of Hamstring Strain Injuries in Elite Australian Footballers.

Purpose: Three of the most commonly identified hamstring strain injury (HSI) risk factors are age, previous HSI, and low levels of eccentric hamstring strength. However, no study has investigated the ability of these risk factors to predict the incidence of HSI in elite Australian footballers. Accordingly, the purpose of this prospective cohort study was to investigate the predictive ability of HSI risk factors using machine learning techniques.

An Evidence-Based Framework for Strengthening Exercises to Prevent Hamstring Injury.

Strength training is a valuable component of hamstring strain injury prevention programmes; however, in recent years a significant body of work has emerged to suggest that the acute responses and chronic adaptations to training with different exercises are heterogeneous. Unfortunately, these research findings do not appear to have uniformly influenced clinical guidelines for exercise selection in hamstring injury prevention or rehabilitation programmes. The purpose of this review was to provide the practitioner with an evidence-base from which to prescribe strengthening exercises to mitigate the risk of hamstring injury.

Running exposure is associated with the risk of hamstring strain injury in elite Australian footballers.

Background: To investigate the association between running exposure and the risk of hamstring strain injury (HSI) in elite Australian footballers.

Methods: Elite Australian footballers (n=220) from 5 different teams participated. Global positioning system (GPS) data were provided for every athlete for each training session and match for the entire 2015 season.

Architectural Changes of the Biceps Femoris Long Head after Concentric or Eccentric Training.

Purpose: To determine the architectural adaptations of the biceps femoris long head (BFlh) after concentric or eccentric strength training interventions and the time course of adaptation during training and detraining.

Methods: Participants in this intervention (concentric training group [n = 14], eccentric training group [n = 14], male subjects) completed a 4-wk control period, followed by 6 wk of either concentric- or eccentric-only knee flexor training on an isokinetic dynamometer and finished with 28 d of detraining. Architectural characteristics of BFlh were assessed at rest and during graded isometric contractions using two-dimensional ultrasonography at 28 d prebaseline; baseline; and days 14, 21, and 42 of the intervention and then again after 28 d of detraining.