The relationship of hamstring and hip flexor flexibility to injury rates in collegiate football players
Fifty collegiate football players volunteered to participate in the study to examine the relationship between flexibility and injury rate of muscle strain, specifically the Hamstring and Hip Flexor muscle groups. Participants were evaluated for range of motion and monitored for non-contact hamstring strains occurring throughout the competitive seaSon Participants with any muscle strain within the past year were excluded from this study. Measurement of the hamstrings was done with a passive knee extension test; hip flexors were measured with prone hip extension test. Sixteen hamstring strains occurred within the fifty participants. Correlation statistics were done to show relationship between the two factors. The analysis failed to show significant relationships between flexibility and injury rates. This indicated that decreased injury occurrence was not related to increased flexibility. Injured participants also completed a subjective questionnaire to determine possible contributing factors to muscle strain. No single factor was identified in connection with injury.
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