Hamstring Strain Incidence Between Genders and Sports in NCAA Athletics

Cross, Kevin M. MS, ATC, PT
Gurka, Kelly K. PhD
Conaway, Mark PhD
Ingersoll, Christopher D. PhD, ATC

Mr Cross is from the University of Virginia, Sports Medicine Program; Drs Gurka and Conaway are from the University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Va. Dr Ingersoll is from the The Herbert H. and Grace A. Dow College of Health Professions, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Mich.The authors have no financial or proprietary interest in the materials presented herein.Address correspondence to Kevin Cross, MS, ATC, PT, 5004 Madison Court, Charlottesville, VA 22911; e-mail: [email protected]

Athletic Training & Sports Health Care 2(3):p 124-130, 2010. | DOI: 10.3928/19425864-20100428-06

Anecdotal evidence suggests that athletes who play sports requiring explosive activities are more susceptible to hamstring strain. No published studies exist that compare the incidence of hamstring strain between genders or sports. Thus, the purpose of this study is to compare those rates between genders and sports during the 2004–2007 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletic seasons. Data were acquired from the NCAA Injury Surveillance System. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) comparing hamstring strains between genders and sports were calculated. Male athletes have a higher rate of hamstring strain (IRR = 1.62; 95% CI, 1.28–2.05), and men’s sports of soccer (6.91 injuries/10,000 athlete-exposures [AEs]) and football (6.04 injuries/10,000 AEs) and women’s sports of soccer (3.81 injuries/10,000 AEs) and field hockey (3.79/10,000 AEs) experience the highest rates of hamstring strain. Efforts to create preventive and rehabilitation programs might be more appropriately focused on student athletes who participate in soccer, football, and field hockey, especially among men.