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THE GLUTE MUSCLES & HAMSTRING INJURY RISK

THE GLUTE MUSCLES & HAMSTRING INJURY RISK

Down-regulated gluteal muscles (when people have a hard time activating or feel their glutes) is an extremely common clinical finding that increases the risk of a number of injuries – one of them being hamstring strains.

The gluteals are the primary hip extensor, and when there is poor activation or weakness in the gluteals, the hamstrings have to contribute more force when we are extending our hip joint (e.g. when sprinting) to compensate.  This theoretically leads to an overload of the hamstrings, and thus increases the risk of muscle strain.

Research has been published which confirms this theory, finding that higher levels of gluteus maximus activation in running are associated with a lower risk of hamstring strain (Schuermans et al., 2017).

When training to rehab or prevent hamstring injuries, do NOT forget to train the gluteals as the primary hip extensor first (low load activation drills, hip thrusts etc.) before building eccentric strength through the hamstrings.

Chris Bryceson

B. Health Sciences (Physio), APAM

CB Physiotherapy

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