PREVENTION OF HAMSTRING INJURIES IN A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL CLUB
USING A MULTI-DISCIPLINE SPORTS MEDICINE TEAM APPROACH
sportEX HAMSTRING ESSENTIALS
The muscles: The hamstrings consist of three muscles that lie on the posterior aspect of the upper leg (i-1): 1) Biceps femoris 2) Semitendonosus 3) Semimembranosus
Actions: All three are involved in flexing the knee and extending the hip but due to the different insertion points, biceps femoris is responsible for laterally rotating the tibia while the two other muscles are responsible for the opposite action of medially rotating the tibia(i-2).
See online for an interactive version of this anatomy
Origins and insertions: All origin of the three muscles is on the ischial tuberosity. However the insertions are different with both semimembranosus and semitendonosus attaching onto the medial (inside) aspect of the tibial condyle and biceps femoris attaching on the lateral (outside) aspect of the tibial condyle.
Characteristics: All three hamstring muscles are biarticulate, meaning they cross two joints (hip and knee). While this is functionally very useful because the muscles can exert influ- ences across two different joints, it also makes them vulnerable to injury particularly when the muscles are fully extended and when athletes perform sudden stops or switches in direction.
ORIGINS, INSERTIONS AND ACTIONS OF THE THREE HAMSTRING MUSCLES
Muscle Origin
Biceps femoris Long head: ischial tuberosity
Sacrotuberous ligament Short head: linea aspera
Insertion Head of fibula Action
Lateral tibial condyle ■ Flexes knee ■ Extends hip
■ Laterally rotates tibia on femur 10 Upper part medial surface of tibia Posterior aspect medial tibial condyle
■ Flexes knee ■ Extends hip
■ Medially rotates tibia on femur
■ Flexes knee ■ Extends hip
■ Medially rotates tibia on femur sportEX dynamics 2008;15(Jan):10-14