FEATURE / CLÉMENT SANSONNET, PATRICE MARINE, JEAN MAZEAS, MAUDE TRAULLÉ & FLORIAN FORELLI

Hamstring injuries are the most common non-contact injuries encountered in professional football, American football, rugby and athletics (especially in sprinters). They alone represent 12 to 17% of total injuries, and more precisely, between 15 and 50% of injuries in professional football. [1-4]

These injuries therefore have both a financial and a socio-psychological impact [8]. This is due to a decrease in performance as well as competitiveness due to the unavailability of injured players [6]. In fact, the number of days lost varies between 8 and 25 days depending on the location and severity of the injury (up to 50 days to return to pre-injury levels of performance) [9].

Following this high rate of recidivism, it may be worth raising various points. First, it is important to know whether the physical therapy / rehabilitation programs are suitable for the treatment of the injuries. We can see from the scientific literature that the healing process is often described as “incomplete”, which may be the consequence of suboptimal rehabilitation programs [9,10]. In addition, it is true that the RTP is often considered premature due to pressure exerted by over ambitious expectations of a rapid return to competitive play and inappropriate RTP testing criteria [11].

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