A hamstring injury can be a lingering nuisance for years if not rehabbed properly. There was a common knowledge that preventing these injuries was nearly impossible. All we knew was to warm up and cool down properly.
Recent studies from the British Journal of Sports Medicine found an exercise that may help lower the odds of hamstring injury in high velocity sports like Soccer, Rugby, and Football players by nearly 50%. That’s incredible!
Sprinter leaving starting blocks on the running track. Explosive start.
“An exercise program called the Nordic hamstring protocol has been shown to decrease the risk of acute hamstring injuries in soccer by at least 50 percent, by strengthening the hamstring muscles in their “eccentric” phase.”
It’s important to continue with your normal, sports specific, warm up but consider adding in the nordic hamstring stretch to your strengthening regimen. We all want to find the tool that makes injuries magically disappear but there really is no such thing but with this exercise added into your regimen the dreaded hamstring injury may pass you by.
A good rule of thumb is to warm up properly prior to participating in sports and give yourself a day or even a few days to recover.
“Training is important, but so is recovery.”(fivethirtyeight)
There is no comparison to taking a few days off to recover from an intense or heavy workout.
By: Stephanie Jones