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A groundbreaking $4 million study, funded by the NFL and led by University of Wisconsin researchers, is delving deep into the prevention and understanding of hamstring injuries, the most common ailment among NFL players.
Spearheaded by UW-Madison orthopedics professor Bryan Heiderscheit, the project has reached its halfway point, spanning over four years and involving multiple universities, including BYU, Indiana, North Carolina, and Notre Dame.
The research is unique in its approach, equipping players with inertial measurement units on seven body parts to track the forces exerted on joints and muscles, particularly the hamstrings.
This sophisticated technology has already been applied to players from various football teams, accumulating data from 600 to 700 athletes, equivalent to about 1,200 player years.
Heiderscheit emphasizes the importance of this extensive data collection, as smaller past studies on hamstring injuries have yielded limited results. "You need to have that sort of scope to really address all the factors contributing to this injury," he explained.
The study aims to debunk misconceptions around hamstring injury prevention and recovery, particularly the counterproductive practice of stretching through an injury.
The NFL's Scientific Advisory Board, recognizing the significance of this study, awarded the grant in 2021. The research is observational, focusing not on dictating rehabilitation methods but on understanding various approaches and their effectiveness.
In addition to hamstring research, Wisconsin players have participated in other NFL-funded studies, including those involving sensors in football players' mouthguards to measure head impact force and full-body MRI scans for basketball players to assess muscle volume and asymmetries.
Assistant athletic director for sports medicine at Wisconsin, Michael Moll, highlighted the broad scope of the research. From analyzing hip injuries in hockey and soccer players to understanding the long-term health implications for athletes, the studies are comprehensive.
Participating athletes are compensated for their involvement, which involves post-injury checks with MRIs, clinical exams, and evaluations of running mechanics and muscle strength.
This initiative marks a significant effort to understand and mitigate the risk of hamstring injuries in American football, offering insights that could transform how these injuries are handled across different sports.
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