Hamstring Injury Prevention and Implementation

Currently, effective hamstring injury prevention is primarily based on exercise strategies. The FIFA 11+ is a general strength and conditioning programme that has been shown to reduce injuries in football, including hamstring injuries. Many hamstring injury prevention studies have shown that eccentric hamstring strength training can reduce the risk of sustaining a hamstring injury, with a particular emphasis in the literature on the Nordic hamstring exercise. However, exercise-based prevention can only be effective when adhered to. Meticulous planning, a gradual increase of eccentric training loads for each individual athlete and stimulating adherence through knowledge transfer are key components to make hamstring injury prevention work in a practical setting. So far, evidence from studies that have investigated stretching and plyometric interventions indicate that these interventions do not seem to be effective at reducing hamstring injuries. Research on other types of preventive strategies, such as running drills, core stability training and sports-specific training, is currently insufficient, and the value of these approaches in hamstring injury prevention remains unclear. This chapter aims to provide a detailed understanding of the available evidence for hamstring injury prevention and the practical considerations around implementing these prevention strategies.