Influence of a Field Hamstring Eccentric Training on Muscle Strength and Flexibility
Open accessAbstract
Muscle strength imbalances and poor flexibility are frequently described as risk factors for hamstring injury. Preventive strategies include eccentric exercises, but the influence of field eccentric exercises on these risk factors remains unclear. We investigated the influence of a field hamstring eccentric program on hamstring strength and flexibility. Twenty-seven amateur athletes were randomly assigned to an intervention (n=13) or control group (n=14). In the intervention group, participants were involved in 15 sessions of four eccentric exercises. Peak torque, hamstring-to-quadriceps ratios, passive and active flexibility were analyzed. No significant modifications of strength, passive or active flexibility were observed in the control group (p>0.05). Hamstring eccentric peak torque (+7.1%) and functional hamstring-to-quadriceps ratios (9.3%) were significantly increased (p<0.05) in the intervention group, but not concentric strength (p<0.05). Passive straight leg raise was significantly increased by 11.4° (+12.7%, p<0.001), but not active flexibility (+3.1%, p>0.05). In conclusion, a 6-week eccentric program, including four field exercises for hamstring muscles, is an effective method of improving eccentric strength, functional ratios and, especially, passive flexibility. As this program may be easily implemented in a real-world context, this association of multiple eccentric exercises might be useful in an injury prevention strategy.
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Several reports show substantial range of motion increases following eccentric resistance training.
“There are several reports of substantial ROM increases following eccentric RT [17–19].”
From Resistance Training Induces Improvements in Range of Motion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2023) · cites this paper as [17]
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Resistance Training Induces Improvements in Range of Motion: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Alizadeh, S., Daneshjoo, A., Zahiri, A., Anvar, S. H., Goudini, R., Hicks, J. P., Konrad, A., & Behm, D. G. (2023) · Sports Medicine · doi:10.1007/s40279-022-01804-x · Cited by 99 · see citing works
- Authors
- Delvaux, F., Schwartz, C., Decréquy, T., Devalckeneer, T., Paulus, J., Bornheim, S., Kaux, J.-F., & Croisier, J.-L.
- Affiliations
- University of Liège (BE)
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, IOC Research Center for prevention and athlete health, FIFA Medical Center of Excellence, FIMS Collaborating Center of Sports Medicine, University and CHU of Liege, Liege, Belgium
- Corresponding author
- Delvaux, François
- Venue
- International Journal of Sports Medicine
- Publisher
- Georg Thieme Verlag KG
- Published
- 2020-01-14
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 04
- Pages
- 233-241
- ISSN
- 0172-4622 (ISSN-L)
- 1439-3964
- OpenAlex
- W2999104613
- Semantic Scholar
- 7bcf15a0eb977b89cb281ceca06340ee8a2098aa
- Cited by
- 33
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 2
- FWCI
- 2.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- other-oa
- Locations
- International Journal of Sports Medicine (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ORBi (University of Liège) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports injuries and prevention
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Orthopedics and Sports Medicine › Sports Performance and Training
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Lower Extremity Biomechanics and Pathologies
- Keywords
- hamstring injury prevention, muscle imbalance, hamstring-to-quadriceps ratio, passive flexibility, peak torque, recreational athletes
- MeSH terms
- Hamstring Muscles, Athletic Injuries, Hip, Humans, Male, Risk Factors, Range of Motion, Articular, Quadriceps Muscle, Muscle Strength, Young Adult, Physical Conditioning, Human
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