Hamstring Injuries in AFL — How, Why and What We Can Do
Hamstring injuries are the most prevalent injury in AFL, costing clubs more than $40,000, on average, per hamstring injury (based on players’ salary and average injury duration). Despite extensive research regarding hamstring injury prevention, the rate of hamstring injuries in AFL remains relatively unchanged. One theory is that it may be due to the recent rule change restricting interchanges. Previously, a team was allowed an unlimited number of interchanges per game, whereas teams are now only allowed 90 interchanges per game. While this slows the game down and may reduce impact injuries due to player fatigue, hamstring injuries are generally not a contact injury and are in fact more likely to occur when a player is fatigued. Obviously we can’t change the rules, so we need to investigate other factors that contribute to hamstring strains and what can be done to prevent them.

The following factors can increase the risk of hamstring strains:
- Inadequate warm up
- Muscle fatigue
- Rapid change of speed or direction
- Inadequate recovery
- Muscle imbalances
- Previous injury
- Poor biomechanics/technique
- Poor core stability
In order to prevent hamstring strains, we need to address the known modifiable risk factors. We can’t change if someone has already had a hamstring strain or that their sport involves quick changes of direction, but the other factors can be addressed by:
- Completing a thorough warm up
- Maintaining cardiovascular fitness
- Including game specific running drills (with quick changes in speed and direction) to ensure the hamstrings are capable of sustaining high acceleration forces
- Individualised strengthening and stretching programs
- Allowing for recovery time following training sessions
- Including core stability exercises
Once you’ve had one hamstring strain, the likelihood of a recurrence is quite high, with AFL players having a 30% chance of reccurence within the season. The risk is highest within the first 6 weeks of returning to sport. There are many factors which contribute to this, these include:
- Going back to sport too early
- Not completing a full rehabilitation program
- Not continuing with the rehabilitation program once they have returned to sport
The length of time required before returning to sport varies depending on the severity and location of the tear. Hamstring injuries can be difficult to manage, as often a player will feel ready to return to sport but will quickly re-aggravate their injury if they haven’t completed their rehabilitation. Therefore, it is important to seek advice from a physiotherapist to ensure you don’t go back to sport before your hamstring is ready. Once you do return to sport, it is essential that you maintain the strength and flexibility of your hamstring given the high risk of recurrence.
