A bounding exercise programme a better alternative than the Nordic hamstring exercise in preventing hamstring injuries in male amateur soccer players?

Hamstring injuries are the most common muscle injuries in soccer players. Recently, several studies have shown that increasing eccentric hamstring strength by performing the Nordic hamstring exercise can reduce the hamstring injury incidence with 60% or more. Unfortunately, a follow up study of one of these randomized controlled trials showed that compliance of this exercise reduced to 6% of all participants.

Unpublished research in the Netherlands confirmed this poor adherence for the Nordic hamstring exercise. These results support the urgency of a functional, sport-specific hamstring injury prevention program that can be easily implemented in sport practice and has good compliance.

The HIPS-BEP study investigates the preventive effect of the bounding exercise program on hamstring injuries of amateur soccer players, playing in the first team in a high level amateur soccer competition (KNVB first league).

According to the sample size calculation 32 teams with an average of 16 players per team are included in this study. Sixteen teams are randomized in the intervention group and 16 teams are randomized in the control group.

Weekly all players receive questions about their exposure on training and match play and (hamstring) injury occurrence. The intervention group receives an additional question about their compliance for the bounding program.

In case of a hamstring injury, the injured player and the physical therapist receive a questionnaire about the injury occurrence. At the return to play moment and three months after return to play they receive two questionnaires to identify factors for a successful return to sport.

To assess adherence, all players in the intervention group receive two questions per email or SMS at the start of the next soccer competition (September 2017).

A bounding exercise programme is effective in preventing hamstring injuries in male amateur soccer players and has a good compliance

Weekly registration via NetQ and SMS track of exposure (training and matchplay), hamstring injury occurence, other injury occurence and compliance for the bounding programme.

The Bounding exercise program is a 12 week program that consist of walking lunges, triplings, drop lunges and ends with bounding exercises. The program follows a progressive build-up and is executed twice per week during regular soccer training. After these 12 weeks, the intervention group continuous with the bounding exercise during the rest of the soccer competition.



The control group performs their regular warming-up during the competition.