Nordic Hamstring and Repeated-sprint Ability in Football (Soccer) Players

Hvidovre University Hospital

Status: Completed

Conditions: Repeated-sprint Ability

Treatments: Other: Control; Other: Nordic Hamstring

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02674919

NHE-2016-LI

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of the study is to investigate the efficacy of a 10-week intervention, using the Nordic Hamstring exercise, on repeated-sprint ability in male sub-elite football players. The primary outcome measure is total sprint time during 4x6 sprint of 10 meters measured using dual-beam photoelectric cells. Additionally, eccentric knee flexor strength is measured using the Nordbord hamstring strength measure. The hypothesis is that strength training of the knee flexor muscles elicited by the Nordic Hamstring exercise will result in enhanced repetitive sprint-ability expressed as a decrease in total sprint time. Furthermore, baseline data is used to assess to correlation between eccentric hamstring strength and active hamstring flexibility AND sprint performance.

Enrollment: 35 patients

Sex: Male

Ages: 17 to 35 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Sub-elite Danish football player
• Age 17-35.
• Able to participate fully in competitive football activities at the time of testing

Exclusion criteria

• Hamstring pain resulting in loss of training and matches 2 months prior to study initiation.
• Specific systematic strength training of the hamstring muscles (>1/week) in the preceding 2 months before study initiation.
• Specific systematic sprint training (>1/week) in the preceding 2 months before study initiation.
• Longstanding injury (>6 weeks) in the lower extremities in the preceding 6 months to study initiation.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

35 participants in 2 patient groups

Nordic Hamstring

Experimental group

Description:

The Nordic Hamstring group performs a progressive strengthening program (Mjolsnes et al., 2004) comprising of the Nordic Hamstring exercise during a period of 10 weeks. The training load increases from one session per week in week 1 to 3 sessions per week in week 3-10. Number of sets and repetitions progressively increase from 2 to 3 and 5 to 12, respectively. The exercise program is performed in the end of a regular football training session.

Treatment:

Other: Nordic Hamstring

Control

Other group

Description:

The control group are asked not to perform the exercise or any other specific strength training for the hamstring muscles and to continue to play football as usual.

Treatment:

Other: Control