The impact of an eccentric or isometric exercise intervention on hamstring strength, muscle architecture and sprint performance across an Australian Rules Football season

• Published in: Journal of science and medicine in sport 2023-10, Vol.26, p.S148-S149
• Main Authors: Timmins, R., Filopoulos, D., Giannakis, J., Nguyen, V., Ruddy, J., Hickey, J., Maniar, N., Pollard, C., Morgan, N., Weakley, J., Opar, D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Australian football; Intervention; Professional soccer; Team sports
• ISSN: 1440-2440; 1878-1861
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jsams.2023.08.035

Despite interest in isometric hamstring exercises, there has been limited research into the potential benefits of these interventions on HSI risk factors and sprint performance. [...]we aimed to investigate the impact of an isometric (ISO) or NHE intervention, alongside a sprint training program on hamstring strength, architecture and sprinting performance in Australian Footballers Methods: Twenty-five male athletes undertook NHE (n = 13) or ISO (n = 12) training across a 38-week period. The improvement in a performance metric such as 5m split time may also assist the “buy-in” and implementation of an exercise-based injury prevention strategy in a high-performance setting where the balance between performance and prevention is a key component of the role Declaration: Ryan Timmins is a SMA Conference Committee Member. A/Prof David Opar is listed as a co-inventor on a patent, filed by the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), for a field-testing device of eccentric hamstring strength, which is now known commercially as the NordBord.