19/01/2026
Return to Play After Hamstring Injury: Time for a Truly Individualized Approach 🎯😮💨
et al. challenges the traditional “one-size-fits-all” approach to hamstring rehabilitation and RTP in professional soccer. The key message is clear: hamstring injuries are not all the same, and RTP criteria should reflect this complexity.
🦵🏼 Each hamstring injury involves a specific muscle, tissue (myofascial, myotendinous, or intratendinous), location, severity, and injury mechanism.
🧬 Anatomical structure and injury complexity matter
- More complex and severe injuries require longer healing times and structured RTP criteria selection to mitigate the risk of reinjury.
🎯 Target the injured tissue
- Strenght tests should be focus on injured muscle and region, muscle function (hip-dominant vs knee-dominant actions), contraction type and joint angles relevant to the injury.
🧩 Mechanism of injury and workload before the injury
Both knowledge used to determine how much sport -and mechanism- specific loading is needed before clearance to athlete’s RTP.
RTP criteria should include:
🏟️ Progressive on-field exposure
📊 High-speed running volumes
⚡️ Near-maximal sprinting in a controlled environment
⚽️ Sport-specific skills and technical actions (kicking, ball control, change of direction).
💪🏼 Reproduce injury movement and assess flexibility and strenght output in critical position.
