Hamstring and calf strain injury mechanism: new frontiers

Hamstring and calf strain commonly occurs when the muscle actively lengthens. Although the muscle is “stretched” when injured, ‘strain’ beyond a safety factor is unlikely to explain injury. A more advanced model of injury is that it results from differential amounts (or rates) of stretch between regions within a muscle or between muscles. Our team will undertake a series of studies to investigate whether inhomogeneous mechanical behaviours (fascicle strain, intra-tendinous strain) exist within the hamstring and calf muscles and whether these behaviours are altered by a past history of injury or hamstring muscle fatigue.