Are you Hamstrung with an injury?

Hamstring injuries are the most common injury type in Australian Rules Football and very prevalent in many other sports and athletics. The most common reason for this is during a particular part of the running cycle the hamstring is under extreme load. This can lead to a muscle injury if this load is above the tolerance of the muscle’s strength. Interestingly, most hamstring injuries occur when you run at or above 80% of your maximal pace!

So, what can we do to make sure you are not hamstrung? GET STRONG. There is evidence to support that if your hamstring is larger and stronger it can withstand more load in that phase of running and therefore reduce the chance of injury. One study has shown an increase in hamstring strength by 1 kg can reduce the risk of an injury by up to 9%. So, if all you are doing is stretching your hamstrings it might be a good idea to start getting them stronger.