Abstract

Muscle injuries account for 31-46 % of all injuries in football1. In that, Hamstring strain injuries (HSI) are consistently the most prevalent time loss injury in football and as such are an important issue in football medicine2. In hamstring strain injuries (HSIs) the musculotendinous junction is the most frequently injured site3. Despite an ever-increasing wealth of information emerging on the aetiology of HSIs, their incidence in football is increasing. Many predisposing factors for hamstring strain have been suggested in the literature, including insufficient warm up, poor flexibility, muscle imbalances, muscle weakness, neural tension, fatigue, days-synergic contraction of muscle groups, and previous injury. The evidence to substantiate these speculations is minimal and conflicting. The same holds true for the management and treatment of hamstring strains as there is no consensus on optimal rehabilitation, therefore management tends to be based on anecdotal evidence and experience rather than evidence based practice4. Hamstring strains are well known for their high rate of recurrence.