Hamstring injuries in the national football league: An epidemiological study.

BACKGROUND: While numerous studies have evaluated National Football League injuries, there is limited literature evaluating hamstring injuries sustained in games. Our primary aim is to analyze the effect of player position on the relative incidence of hamstring injuries in the National Football League. Our secondary aims are to analyze the effects of field surface, week of the season, and short rest weeks.

METHODS: Official National Football League game books containing injury data from the 2013-2016 regular seasons were used. Data were analyzed to determine the incidence of hamstring injuries by field surface, rest, and week of the season. Field surface was considered either turf or grass. Short rest was considered four days. Relative incidence of hamstring injuries by position was performed with standardized incidence ratios. P values < 0.05 were considered statistically significant.

RESULTS: Seventy-eight qualifying hamstring injuries were identified and included in our analysis. Linebackers had the highest relative incidence per play with a standardized incidence ratio of 2.02 (CI: 1.14-2.91), followed by Defensive Backs (1.62; 95% CI: 1.14-1.62). Offensive linemen and defensive linemen had standardized incidence ratios significantly less than 1. Fifty-seven percent of hamstring injuries occurred on turf fields (p = 0.082). There was no significant difference between the proportion of hamstring injuries that occurred on short rest and the proportion of games played on short rest (p = 0.959). Hamstring injuries were not more likely to occur than the pooled group of all other types of injuries on short rest (p = 0.861). With a 17-week season, the mean week of hamstring injury was 8.05 (95% CI: 7.06-9.04), while the median week was 7.5.

CONCLUSIONS: Linebackers and Defensive Backs have the highest relative incidence of hamstring injuries compared to other position groups, while offensive and defensive linemen have the lowest. Field surface and a short rest period did not show significance.