Prevalence of Hamstring Injuries in Sprinters: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study across Different Athletic Exposures
Abstract
Hamstring injuries are common among sprinters. However, studies on the prevalence of these injuries rarely investigate their occurrence in the dominant and non-dominant limbs during different training phases. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of hamstring injuries in the dominant and non-dominant limbs across different athletic exposures in sprinters. This is an observational, analytical, and cross-sectional study with a retrospective cohort design. The study included 42 male sprinters with a mean age of 22.5 ± 4.52 years, who answered a retrospective questionnaire based on the Referred Morbidity Survey method. The dominant limb showed a higher number and prevalence of injuries compared to the non-dominant limb, with a statistically significant difference across the different athletic exposures [χ²(2) = 6.53; p < 0.05]. However, no significant differences were observed in the non-dominant limb across exposures [χ²(2) = 4.08; p > 0.05]. It is concluded that the dominant limb is more prone to injury across different athletic exposures and that the preparation phase has a significant effect on the occurrence of injuries in this limb, but not in the non-dominant limb.
References
Afonso, J., Rocha-Rodrigues, S., Clemente, FM, Aquino, M., Nikolaidis, PT, Sarmento, H., Fílter, A., Olivares-Jabalera, J., e Ramirez-Campillo, R. (2021). The hamstrings: Anatomic and physiologic variations and their potential relationships with injury risk. Frontiers in Physiology, 12, 694604. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2021.694604
Bishop, C., Read, P., Lake, J., Chavda, S., e Turner, A. (2018). Interlimb asymmetries: Understanding how to calculate differences from bilateral and unilateral tests. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 40(4), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1519/SSC.0000000000000358
Bishop, C., McAuley, W., Read, P., Gonzalo-Skok, O., Lake, J., e Turner, A. (2021a). Acute effect of repeated sprints on interlimb asymmetries during unilateral jumping. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 35(8), 2127-2132. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003109
Bishop, C., Read, P., McCubbine, J., e Turner, A. (2021b). Vertical and horizontal asymmetries are related to slower sprinting and jump performance in elite youth female soccer players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 35(1), 56-63. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000002544
Bishop, C., Lake, J., Loturco, I., Papadopoulos, K., Turner, A., e Read, P. (2021c). Interlimb asymmetries: The need for an individual approach to data analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 35(3), 695-701. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000002729
Bishop, C., Weldon, A., Hughes, J., Brazier, J., Loturco, I., Turner, A., e Read, P. (2021d). Seasonal variation of physical performance and inter-limb asymmetry in professional cricket athletes. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 35(4), 941-948. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003927
Boltz, A.J., Roby, P.R., Robison, H.J., Morris, S.N., Collins, C.L., e Chandran, A. (2021). Epidemiology of injuries in National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s track and field: 2014-2015 through 2018-2019. Journal of Athletic Training, 56(7), 788-794. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-513-20
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Édouard, P., Caumeil, B., Navarro, L., Hanon, C., Guilhem, G., e Ruffault, A. (2023). Epidemiologia de reclamações de lesões em atletas de corrida de elite no atletismo. Applied Sciences, 13(14), 8105. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13148105
Ekstrand, J., Waldén, M., e Hägglund, M. (2016). Hamstring injuries have increased by 4% annually in men’s professional football since 2001: A 13-year longitudinal analysis of the UEFA Elite Club injury study. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(12), 731-737. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-095359
Elliott, M.C.C.W., Zarins, B., Powell, J.W., e Kenyon, C.D. (2011). Hamstring muscle strain in professional football players: A 10-year review. The American Journal of Sports Medicine, 39(4), 843-850. https://doi.org/10.1177/0363546510394647
Ferreira, A.C., Dias, J.M.C., Fernandes, R.M., Sabino, G.S., Anjos, M.T.S. dos, e Felício, D.C. (2012). Prevalência e fatores associados a lesões em corredores amadores de rua do município de Belo Horizonte, MG. Revista Brasileira de Medicina do Esporte, 18(4), 252-255. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-86922012000400008
Gamonales, JM, Hernández-Beltrán, V., Perdomo-Alonso, A., Barguerias-Martínez, J., Gómez-Carrero, S., Ferreira, CC, Paulo, R., e Espada, MC (2024). Análisis de las lesiones deportivas en jugadores de fútbol sub-16 y sub-18 integrados en academia. Retos, 56, 17-23. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v56.104386
Gonzalez, M.P., Montalvo, S., Dietze-Hermosa, M., Gomez, M., e Dorgo, S. (2023). A comparison of morphological, jump, and sprint kinematic asymmetries in Division I track and field athletes. International Journal of Exercise Science, 16(1), 1306-1319. https://doi.org/10.70252/TFBN4736
Hopkins, C., Williams, J., Rauh, M.J., e Zhang, L. (2022). Epidemiology of NCAA track and field injuries from 2010 to 2014. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/23259671211068079
Jacobsson, J., Timpka, T., Ekberg, J., Kowalski, J., Nilsson, S., e Renström, P. (2010). Design of a protocol for large-scale epidemiological studies in individual sports: The Swedish Athletics Injury Study. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 44(15), 1106-1111. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2010.076794
Lambert, C., Reinert, N., Stahl, L., Pfeiffer, T., Wolfarth, B., Lachmann, D., Shafizadeh, S., e Ritzmann, R. (2020). Epidemiology of injuries in track and field athletes: A cross-sectional study of specific injuries based on time loss and reduction in sporting level. The Physician and Sportsmedicine, 50(1), 20-29. https://doi.org/10.1080/00913847.2020.1858701
Madruga-Parera, M., Bishop, C., Fort-Vanmeerhaeghe, A., Beltran-Valls, M.R., Gonzalo-Skok, O., e Romero-Rodríguez, D. (2020). Interlimb asymmetries in youth tennis players: Relationships with performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 34(10), 2815-2823. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000003152
Pastre, C.M. (2004). Lesões desportivas no atletismo: Comparação entre informações obtidas em prontuários e inquérito de morbidade referida. Revista Brasileira de Medicina do Esporte, 10(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-86922004000100001
Pastre, C.M., Carvalho Filho, G., Monteiro, H.L., Netto Júnior, J., e Padovani, C.R. (2005). Lesões desportivas na elite do atletismo brasileiro: Estudo a partir de morbidade referida. Revista Brasileira de Medicina do Esporte, 11(1), 43-47. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1517-86922005000100005
Pollock, N., Kelly, S., Lee, J., Stone, B., Giakoumis, M., Polglass, G., Brown, J., e MacDonald, B. (2022). A 4-year study of hamstring injury outcomes in elite track and field using the British Athletics rehabilitation approach. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 56, 257-263. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2021-104327
Silvers-Granelli, H.J., Cohen, M., Espregueira-Mendes, J., e Mandelbaum, B. (2021). Hamstring muscle injury in the athlete: State of the art. Journal of ISAKOS: Joint Disorders & Orthopaedic Sports Medicine, 6(3), 170-181. https://doi.org/10.1136/jisakos-2017-000145
Author Biographies
http://lattes.cnpq.br/0029204034862787
http://lattes.cnpq.br/0940116628104330
http://lattes.cnpq.br/5944477697050661
http://lattes.cnpq.br/5591237188963458
Copyright (c) 2025 Lecturas: Educación Física y Deportes
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
