Ann Rehabil Med.  2019 Aug;43(4):465-473. 10.5535/arm.2019.43.4.465.

Effect of Pre-training and Post-training Nordic Exercise on Hamstring Injury Prevention, Recurrence, and Severity in Soccer Players

• Elerian AE
• El-Sayyad
• Dorgham HA

• KMID: 2457755
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5535/arm.2019.43.4.465

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effect of adding Nordic exercise as post-training in decreasing hamstring initial, recurrent injuries rates, and their severity.
METHODS
In this randomly controlled trial study, 34 professional football players aged 21 to 35 years were randomly assigned into two groups (17 players each) from Sporting clubs at Alexandria, Egypt. For group one, Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) was performed pre-training and post-training. For group two, NHE was only performed pre-training. The control group was the same team during the previous season. Length of the trial was 12 weeks. The Australian football association injury form was used to collect incidence of injuries for each subject in both groups.
RESULTS
Pooled results based on total injuries showed that group one had significantly less hamstring initial injuries (92% less) than the previous season, while group two had 80% less initial injuries and 85% less recurrent injuries than previous season. Regarding the severity of injuries in term of mean number of absent days, it was 1 day for group one and 2.7 days for group two while it was 7.95 days for the previous season during total risk time of 116.3±13.2 and 117.6±5.7 exposure hours for group one and group two, respectively.
CONCLUSION
The use of NHE as a prevention protocol was effective in reducing all hamstring injuries with the use of NHE during pre-training and post-training having the greatest effect.

Keyword

Hamstring muscles; Leg injuries; Soccer; Egypt

MeSH Terms

Egypt
Football
Incidence
Leg Injuries
Recurrence*
Seasons
Soccer*
Sports

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Flowchart of this study.

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  Fig. 2. Illustrating therapist and patient’s starting position during Nordic hamstring exercise.

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  Fig. 3. Illustrating ending position of the Nordic hamstring exercise.

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