Prevention of Hamstring Injuries in Collegiate Sprinters

BACKGROUND: No studies have been reported on how strength, agility, and flexibility training reduce the occurrence of hamstring injuries in sprinters. Therefore, a program for preventing hamstring injury in these athletes has not been established. PURPOSE: To document the incidence of hamstring injuries during times when different prevention strategies were employed to see whether a particular prevention program reduced their occurrence. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiology study. METHODS: The study subjects were a total of 613 collegiate male sprinters trained by the same coach over 24 seasons. Tow training was used throughout the research period as a normal sprint training method. The hamstring injury prevention program evolved over time. From 1988 to 1991 (period 1), prevention focused on strength training alone; from 1992 to 1999 (period 2), a combination of strength and agility training was used; and from 2000 to 2011 (period 3), the program incorporated strength, agility, and flexibility training. The incidence of hamstring injuries was compared for each of the 3 prevention strategies. RESULTS: The incidence of hamstring injuries per athlete-seasons was 137.9 for period 1, 60.6 for period 2, and 6.7 for period 3. A significant difference was observed in the incidence of hamstring injury according to the different prevention programs (χ(2)(2) = 31.78, P < .001, effect size: Cramer V = 0.23, 1 − β = 0.999). Residual analysis showed that the number of hamstring injuries for period 1 was significantly greater than the expected value (P < .01), whereas that for period 3 was significantly lower than the expected value (P < .01). CONCLUSION: The incidence of hamstring injuries in sprinters decreased as agility and flexibility were added to strength training.