Playing again after hamstring injury in amateur soccer players (2014)
expert opinions on return to play criteria
Recurrent hamstring injuries are a major problem in soccer. One of the reasons for the high recurrent rate could be found in returning to group training to early. Therefore the aim of this study is:
- To create a list of criteria which should be met by amateur soccer players before they can return to play after a hamstring injury and
- To explore how these criteria can be measured according to experts in the field of hamstring injuries.
A qualitative approach is chosen. Semi-structured interviews are performed in three categories of participants: sports physicians, sports physical therapists and soccer players who had a hamstring injury in the past season. After interviewing qualitative data-analysis were performed. A list of 25 criteria and 20 measurement tools is conducted from 12 interviews and divided in seven overarching themes.
Four themes concern RTP criteria
- Primary conditions,
- Sport specific and functional movement,
- Staged rehabilitation,
- Other factors.
The other three themes concern measurement tools:
- Passive tests,
- Active tests and
- Sport specific tests.
A soccer player may not have any strength deficits, no joint mobility deficits and must finish a gradually increased rehabilitation protocol which is focused on sport- specific demands. After that, he can gradually increase group training time before participating in a complete group training. Further research needs to be done to develop a toolkit with cut-off points to determine if a player is ready to RTP. Clinical Relevance This study provides clinicians an overview of which criteria should be met by a soccer player before he is ready to return to play. When a toolkit and cut-off points are developed, a decrease in hamstring injury reoccurrence should be the result.