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Review
. 2020 May 18;8(5):65.
doi: 10.3390/sports8050065.

Mechanisms of Hamstring Strain Injury: Interactions between Fatigue, Muscle Activation and Function

Shaun Huygaerts  1   2 , Francesc Cos  3   4 , Daniel D Cohen  5   6 , Julio Calleja-González  7   8 , Marc Guitart  9 , Anthony J Blazevich  10 , Pedro E Alcaraz  1   11
Affiliations
Review

Mechanisms of Hamstring Strain Injury: Interactions between Fatigue, Muscle Activation and Function

Shaun Huygaerts et al. Sports (Basel). .

Abstract

Isolated injury to the long head of biceps femoris is the most common type of acute hamstring strain injury (HSI). However, the precise hamstring injury mechanism (i.e., sprint-type) is still not well understood, and research is inconclusive as to which phase in the running cycle HSI risk is the greatest. Since detailed information relating to hamstring muscle function during sprint running cannot be obtained in vivo in humans, the findings of studies investigating HSI mechanisms are based on modeling that requires assumptions to be made based on extrapolations from anatomical and biomechanical investigations. As it is extremely difficult to account for all aspects of muscle-tendon tissues that influence function during high-intensity running actions, much of this complexity is not included in these models. Furthermore, the majority of analyses do not consider the influence of prior activity or muscular fatigue on kinematics, kinetics and muscle activation during sprinting. Yet, it has been shown that fatigue can lead to alterations in neuromuscular coordination patterns that could potentially increase injury risk. The present critical review will evaluate the current evidence on hamstring injury mechanism(s) during high-intensity running and discuss the interactions between fatigue and hamstring muscle activation and function.

Keywords: athletic injuries (MeSH); biomechanics; fatigue (MeSH); hamstring muscles (MeSH); muscle functioning; running (MeSH).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mechanical and muscular activation characteristics of the main phases in which HSI occurs.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Interactions between fatigue and hamstring muscle activation and function.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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