Augustsson J, Augustsson SR. Development of a Novel Nordic Hamstring Exercise Performance Test Device: A Reliability and Intervention Study.
Sports (Basel) 2022;
10:sports10020026. [PMID:
35202065 PMCID:
PMC8875831 DOI:
10.3390/sports10020026]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Revised: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
There is evidence that a knee flexor exercise, the Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE), prevents hamstring injuries. The purpose of this study was therefore to develop, and to determine the reliability of, a novel NHE test device and, further, to determine the effectiveness of a 10-week low volume NHE program on NHE performance. Twenty female football (soccer) players, aged 16–30 years, participated in this study. From a kneeling position on the device, with the ankles secured under a heavy lifting sling, participants leaned forward in a controlled manner as far as possible (eccentric phase) and then returned to the starting position (concentric phase). A tape measure documented the forward distance achieved by the participants in cm. Participants completed three separate occasions to evaluate test-retest reliability. Additionally, 14 players performed a low volume (1 set of 5 repetitions) NHE program once weekly for 10 weeks. No significant test-retest differences in NHE performance were observed. The intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.95 and the coefficient of variation was 3.54% between tests. Mean improvement in the NHE performance test by the players following training was 22% (8.7 cm), p = 0.005. Our test device reliably measured NHE performance and is easy to perform in any setting. Further, NHE performance was improved by a 10-week low volume NHE program. This suggests that even a small dose (1 set of 5 repetitions once weekly) of the NHE may enhance NHE performance.
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