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THIGH MUSCLE INJURIES IN TRACK AND FIELD: PRELIMINARY HQR COMPARISON AND IMPLICATIONS FOR INJURY RISK ASSESSMENT

Abstract

K. Wiegand, O. Buchholz

Eastern Washington University, Cheney, WA

Thigh muscle injuries are common in athletes, with the hamstrings to quadriceps strength ratio (HQR) considered a potential risk factor. While consensus is lacking on the predictive accuracy of HQR for injury occurrence, some studies suggest potential utility in monitoring injury and performance metrics. PURPOSE: To provide a preliminary comparison of HQR values among injured and uninjured track and field athletes. METHODS: Thirty male and female Division-I track and field athletes representing all events events participated in the study prior to the start of pre-season training. After a self-selected warm up, an isokinetic dynamometer was used to assess the peak concentric torque production of the hamstrings and quadriceps. The protocol included 5 repetitions at 60°/s to measure strength, 20 repetitions at 180°/s to measure endurance, and 15 repetitions at 300°/s to measure speed-strength. Injury incidence data were provided from the sports medicine team after 3 months and during the indoor season. Qualitative differences in HQR values at all speeds were compared between athletes who sustained thigh muscle injuries and uninjured peers matched by sex, height, mass, and event. RESULTS: Mean HQR data are presented in Table 1. Five athletes (2 females) sustained injuries involving the hamstrings or quadriceps. On average, the uninjured matched pairs had greater HQR, except at 300°/s of the left leg. CONCLUSION: During this initial phase of a continuing longitudinal study, it appears that HQR may be considered when assessing thigh muscle injury risk. Further research is needed to validate these findings and explore the potential integration of HQR assessments into comprehensive injury prevention strategies for athletes.

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Table 1.docx (13 kB)
Table 1

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