Characteristics of the included studies
| First author, year of publication | Study population | Number of subjects* | Diagnosed | Age (years) mean±SD | % Male | Follow-up period | Number of recurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gibbs et al9 | Elite Australian Rules football athletes who sustained an acute Grade 0–1 hamstring injury (AFL club 1998–2002) | Total: 31 | CE MRI | 18–33† | 100 | The same playing season‡ | Total: 6 (19.4%) |
| Grade 0: 14 (45.2%) | |||||||
| Grade 1: 17 (54.8%) | Grade 0: 0 (0%) | ||||||
| Grade 2: 0 | Grade 1: 6 (35%) | ||||||
| Koulouris et al17 | Elite Australian Rules football athletes who sustained an acute Grade 1–2 hamstring injury (AFL 2002) | Total: 41 | MRI | 24±3.8 (Single injury) | 100 | The same playing season‡ | Total: 10 (24.4%) |
| Grades: NA | 25.5±3.8 (Re-injury) | ||||||
| Malliaropoulos et al10 | Elite track and field athletes with acute, first-time unilateral Grade 0–2 hamstring strain (1999–2007) | Total: 165 | CE | 18–24† | 57.7 | 2 Years after injury | Total: 23 (13.9%) |
| Grade 0: 75 (45.4%) | Grade 0: 7 (9.3%) | ||||||
| Grade 1: 58 (35.2%) | Sonography | Grade 1: 14 (24.1%) | |||||
| Grade 2: 32 (19.4%) | Grade 2: 2 (6.3%) | ||||||
| Sherry and Best 19 | 24 Athletes of various sports with an acute Grade 1–2 hamstring strain | Total: 24 | CE | 24.3±12.4 (STSS) | 75 | 1 Year after return to sports | Total: 8 (33.3%) |
| Grade 0: 0 | |||||||
| Grade 1: 12 (50%) | 23.2±11.1 (PATS) | Grades: NA | |||||
| Grade 2: 12 (50%) | |||||||
| Verrall et al18 | 1 of 3 Elite Australian Rules football athletes who sustained an acute Grade 1–2 hamstring injury (AFL) | Total: 30 | CE | 23.6±3.2 | 100 | The same and subsequent playing season | Total: 19 (63.3%) |
| Grades: NA | MRI |
↵* Number of subjects are those athletes who sustained a hamstring injury based on our inclusion criteria.
↵† Age range of subjects.
↵‡ Hamstring injuries that occurred prior to the end of the season break period, which could not be monitored during rehabilitation, were excluded.
AFL, Australian Football League; CE, clinical examination; NA, not available; PATS, progressive agility and trunk stabilisation; STSS, stretching and strengthening.