PROJECT PARTNERS
· Aspetar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar
FUNDING
· This PhD project is internally funded by Aspetar.
BACKGROUND
Injuries in professional football (UEFA Champions League, UCL) are estimated to cost up to €20 million per season or up to €20.000 a day. Hamstring injuries are the most common muscle injury in professional football and despite preventative efforts, the injury rate is increasing with 2.3% per year. In the Australian Football League (AFL), 27% of all hamstring injuries are re-injuries. Re-injuries are thought to have longer recovery period and thus pose an even greater (financial) burden on teams. A previous hamstring injury is also the primary risk factor for a future hamstring injury.
Increasingly, research is focused on either preventing hamstring (re-)injuries or returning the athlete with a hamstring injury to sport as fast and safe as possible. Currently there is only an expert-opinion based consensus on the return to sport criteria and decision-making process, but it lacks validation.
OBJECTIVES
Due to the limited evidence in the return to sports period and due to the need to promote a faster and safer return to sport after an acute hamstring (re-)injury, this research project aims to:
To enhance return to sport and reduce re-injury rate after an acute hamstring injury.
To provide validation for the expert-based consensus in the return to sports decision making process.