In this new systematic review, the authors included 5 studies (4 cluster randomised controlled trials and 1 cohort study) that investigated injury prevention programs that included the Nordic Hamstring exercise on the hamstring injury rate in soccer players. Pooled data of 4,455 individuals included in the 5 studies were analysed. A total of 315,992 exposure hours and 166 hamstring injuries were collected from the included studies. The pooled results showed 51% overall injury reduction per 1,000 hours of exposure for to injury prevention programs that included the Nordic hamstring exercise compared to controls (injury risk ratio = 0.49; 95% confidence interval = 0.291 to 0.827; p = 0.008). A limitation of this review is that it was not possible to evaluate the isolated effect of Nordic Hamstring exercise because the injury prevention programs included a variety of other exercises. Another limitation is that cost effectiveness was not considered as an outcome in the review, even though economic data have been published.
Al Attar WS, et al. Effect of injury prevention programs that include the Nordic hamstring exercise on hamstring injury rates in soccer players: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med 2017;47(5):907-16.
