Hamstring Injury and Return to Sport - Steph Lazarczuk

The Progress Theory

Hello and welcome to The Progress Theory where we discuss how to implement scientific principles to optimise human performance.

In today’s episode, we have Steph Lazarczuk, Researcher and lecturer in sports rehab, with her area of expertise being hamstring injury and return to sport. Hamstrings injuries are one of the most frustrating injuries for athletes because if they are not treated with the appropriate exercise protocols and progressions they’re likely to reoccur. This is particularly relevant for athletes whose sports require high levels of hamstring strength and contraction velocities, such as sprinting. In this episode, Steph discusses the role of the hamstring muscle, determines how it can be susceptible to injury, and how strength, range and high speed running are all components of an effective hamstring rehab protocol. In short, if you work with or compete in a sport that involves running you need to listen to this episode.

In this episode, we discuss:

1:08 - An introduction to Steph Lazarzcuk

3:22 - What lead Steph towards Hamstring research

5:19 - What is the function of the Hamstrings and why are they susceptible to injury

8:14 - The most common hamstring injuries and where they occur

15:05 - The hamstring in a lengthened state is when it is most susceptible to injury

16:07 - Determining if someone is at risk of a hamstring injury

24:55 - Long-term programming for hamstrings post-injury

32:57 - Common mistakes coaches make during hamstring RTP programming

37:22 - 3 key points for improving your hamstring training

40:37 - How to contact Steph

Final Thoughts

It was great to have the role of the hamstring fully described so you could understand how they can be susceptible to injury when exposed to sudden high forces when in a lengthened position. Hamstring strength is important, but the hamstrings are involved with so many human functions that rehabbing the hamstrings or preparing them for peak sporting performance is not as simple as just ‘do a load of nordic curls’.

Here are some final thoughts I had on the episode:

Firstly, it was really interesting to hear where hamstring injuries occur. Sprinting related hamstring injuries generally occur around the knee, whereas the hamstring injuries which occur more towards the hip are caused by a sudden slip or reach. Understanding how the hamstrings tend to get injured is vital when planning training programmes for the hamstrings as then it can focus on developing the physical qualities needed to ensure that when the hamstring is exposed to a situation that could injure it, it has the capacity to deal with the forces and the situation.

Secondly, I loved hearing her ideas around working on many physical qualities simultaneously post hamstring injury, and making training decisions based on how the athlete is tolerating the discomfort. Only focusing on one physical quality in training, such as isometric strength, before moving onto the next physical quality might mean the athlete misses an opportunity for development, or at least certainly delayed. More of a conjugate approach, so working on multiple physical qualities simultaneously, is really growing in popularity in the S&C and rehab space.

Anyways I hope you enjoyed this episode. Follow The Progress Theory on Instagram, Youtube, and your podcast app. We’ll see you in the next one.

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