Patterns of Hamstring Muscle Tears in the General Population: A Systematic Review

• Published in: PloS one 2016-05, Vol.11 (5), p.e0152855-e0152855
• Main Authors: Kuske, Barbara, Hamilton, David F, Pattle, Sam B, Simpson, A Hamish R W
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adults; Age; Age composition; Arthritis; Avulsion; Biology and Life Sciences; Bone mineral density; Clinical trials; College football; Data processing; Diabetes; Exploration; Female; Females; Hamstring Muscles - diagnostic imaging; Hamstring Muscles - injuries; Humans; Injuries; Injury analysis; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Males; Medicine and Health Sciences; Muscles; Older people; Pain; Patients; Population; Quality; Research and Analysis Methods; Risk analysis; Risk factors; Sports injuries; Sports related injuries; Studies; Surgery; Tearing; Tendons; Trauma
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152855

Hamstring tears are well recognised in the sporting population. Little is known about these injuries in the general population. Evaluating the rates, patterns and risk factors of non-sporting hamstring tears, compared to sporting related hamstring tears. MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (1989-2015). Studies reporting patients with a grade 2 or 3 hamstring muscle tear, identified clinically, confirmed by MRI imaging or direct visualisation during surgical exploration. 144 sets of linked data were extracted for analysis. Most injuries were in males (81.3%), where mean age at injury was lower (30.2, 95% CI 29.1-31.3) than in females (35.4, 95% CI 32.4-38.4) p = 0.06. Key differences were found in the proportion of non-sporting injuries in patients under and over the age 40 (p = 0.001). The proportion of non-sporting injuries was significantly higher in females compared to males (25.9% female non-sporting injuries, versus 8.5% male; p = 0.02). Avulsions were more frequently reported in non-sporting activities (70.5%). The proportion of such injuries was notably higher in females, though this failed to meet significance (p = 0.124). Grouped by age category a bimodal distribution was noted, with the proportion of avulsions greater in younger (age 40) (p = 0.008). 86.8% of patients returned to pre-injury activity levels with a similar frequency across all study variables; age, activity (sporting vs non-sporting) and injury type (avulsion vs tear). This review highlights a proportion of adults suffering grade 2 or 3 hamstring injuries from activities other than the classic sports trauma. The majority of these non-sporting injuries were avulsion injuries that clustered in older female and skeletally immature patients suggesting a potential link to bone mineral density.