When the British Athletics Muscle Injury Classification is used to inform hamstring rehabilitation for track and field athletes, they have a reduced reinjury rate, new study finds.
How Classification Cuts Reinjury Rates in Track Athletes
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Secondary#hamstringinjury#reinjuryrate#trackandfieldathletes
Previous studies have shown that hamstring injuries are common in track and field athletes. A strain or tear can be severely debilitating for these athletes.
In the study, “A 4-year study of hamstring injury outcomes in elite track and field using the British Athletics rehabilitation approach,” which was published online on April 14, 2021 in the British Medical Journal, the researchers collected hamstring injury data for elite track and field athletes on the British Athletic World Class Program between December 2015 and November 2019.
The data included athlete demographics, mechanism of injury, self-reported gait phase, MRI characteristics, and time to return to full training.
There was a total of 70 hamstring injuries in 46 athletes (24 women and 22 men, 24.6 ±3.7 years).
Overall, British Athletics Muscle Injury Classification grade and the intratendon c classification was associated with time to return to full training. Mean time to return to full training for intratendon classifications was 34 ±7 days (2c) and 48 ±17 days (3c).
The overall reinjury rate was 2.9% and there were no reinjuries in the intratendon classifications. The researchers also found that MRI variables of length and cross-sectional area (CSA) of muscle edema, CSA of tendon injury and loss of tendon tension were associated with time to return to full training.
However, longitudinal length of tendon injury in the intratendon classes was not associated with time to return to full training.
“The application of British Athletics Muscle Injury Classification to inform hamstring rehabilitation in British Athletics results in low reinjury rates and favorable time to return to full training following hamstring injury. The key MRI variables associated with longer recovery are length and CSA of muscle edema, CSA of tendon injury, and loss of tendon tension,” the researchers wrote.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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