The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the effectiveness of exercise-based interventions for prevention of hamstring injuries in sport. PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, ResearchGate, CINAHL, PEDro, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar databases were searched for randomized controlled trials and prospective cohort studies exploring the effects of exercise interventions on hamstring injury incidence. Subgroup analyses were performed to determine effects of several independent variables related to the interventions. Altogether, 17 studies were included. Exercise interventions decreased hamstring injury risk (RR%=%0.49; 95%CI%=%0.40%0.59; p%(%0.001). There were similar effects found for interventions performed %2 times per week (RR%=%0.35; 95%CI%=%0.15%0.82) and the interventions performed )2 times per week (RR%=%0.44; 95%CI%=%0.31%0.61). Similarly, there were similar effects found for the interventions with progressive increase in load (RR%=%0.53; 95%CI%=%0.37%0.74) and the interventions with constant loads (RR%=%0.46; 95%CI%=%0.36%0.58). Other subgroup analyses (intervention supervision, sport type, inclusion of Nordic hamstring exercise and type of the trial) also showed no indications on specific characteristics of the interventions, that increase the preventive effects. Our findings showed that hamstring injury incidence can be decreased with exercise-based interventions, and that weekly frequency and load progression are not...
COBISS.SI-ID: 1541710788
Our study was designed to check the reliability of force-velocity (F-v) relationship outcome measures using flywheel (FW) squats. The main objectives at the primary level were to test intra-session reliability of mechanical parameters for ten equidistant FW loads, and at the secondary level, to test reliability and validity of the F-v relationship outcome measures in case any possible reduction in used loads and number of loads % compared to the 10-load method as a reference % is administered. Twenty-six subjects performed two sets of five squats with FW loads in the range 0.025-0.25 kg%m2. Averaging six consecutive repetitions obtained ICC2.k ) 0.9 for mean force and mean velocity results. Consecutively averaged parameters at the primary level showed excellent inter-set reliability (ICC2.1 ) 0.9). The inverse F-v relationship was strong (R2 = 0.96). At the secondary level, Bland-Altman statistics showed decreasing bias and limits of agreement in combination with more loads. Theoretical maximal force and power showed smaller bias as F-v slope and theoretical maximal velocity for three loads or more. Four loads (0.025, 0.075, 0.225 and 0.25 kg%m2) lowered bias to a 5 % in relation to the reference F-v slope. In conclusion, six repetitions are required to obtain trustworthy force and velocity results. The results will contribute to standardising the methodology for assessing the mechanical capacities of leg muscles using FW resistance. Moreover, assessing individual F-v...
COBISS.SI-ID: 14873859
Asymmetries in body ability and function are prevalent among athletes and may lead to injuries and decreased performance. In general, asymmetries can be classified into local (involving single joint, muscle or body part) and global, which appear especially during complex movement patterns. Structural asymmetries are a major problem as well, as they may lead to overload of musculoskeletal system during cyclic and acyclic movements. Several asymmetry studies were carried out on soccer players and demonstrated that hamstring weakness and bilateral lower limb asymmetries are significant risk factors for sustaining an injury. Evidence based physical conditioning and sports injuries prevention/rehabilitation has gained recognition and keeps rising attention of practitioners and researchers. Inter-muscular strength/power relationships and postural balance represent an important aspect of such an approach. The presentation will summarize the most important approaches to testing body (a)symmetries and muscle (im)balances such as: (1) agonist-to-antagonist ratio, (2) contra-lateral strength differences, (3) inter-limb differences when performing bilateral motor tasks, (4) limb weight-bearing differences during standardized postural tasks. Since previous injury is the strongest predictor of future injuries, asymmetries should be given a special attention in return-to-sport phase as well. Studies to date do not provide many cause-effect relationships between asymmetries and injury risk. The final aim of future research should be to establish effective interventions to reduce or eliminate asymmetries to reduce injury risk. For now, there is no comprehensive answer on how to navigate sport training to avoid asymmetries and injuries.
COBISS.SI-ID: 1541866948