Role of movement rate and brain-muscle coupling during high-speed knee movement in hamstring injuries in football (PhD Academy Award)

Abstract

My PhD provided knowledge on the motor control of fast lower limb movements and determined the role of movement rate and the associated brain and muscle activity on football hamstring strain injuries. I measured movement rate, as well as brain and muscle activity, during a maximum-speed repetitive knee flexion-extension task in footballers with and without hamstring strain injury history. To determine whether the differences found were segment-specific, leg and finger movement rate were also compared. Hamstring strain injuries impose an increasing burden on football players and clubs.1 Despite abundant research on hamstring strain injuries, there is a clear lack of evidence on the features of brain activity and brain-muscle coupling in footballers with hamstring strain injury history, especially during high-speed knee movements, which represent a frequent hamstring strain injury mechanism in football.2 As neurophysiological changes have been reported in association with other injuries (eg, ligament injuries),3 hamstring strain injury may drive similar adaptations. The need for further research on hamstring strain injury-related central nervous system adaptations has been highlighted in the latest London International consensus on hamstring injuries.4 Determining the existence of these adaptations contributes to our understanding of the pathophysiology of hamstring strain injuries and their management. The current knowledge on the motor control of fast limb movements was compiled through a narrative review.5 Correct performance in the designed high-speed …