Altered Muscle Activation Following Hamstring Injuries
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Downloaded from bjsm.bmj.com on March 28, 2011 - Published by group.bmj.com BJSM Online First, published on March 10, 2011 as 10.1136/bjsm.2010.079343 Original article Altered muscle activation following hamstring injuries G i s e l a S o l e , 1 S t e p h a n M i l o s a v l j e v i c , 1 H e l e n N i c h o l s o n , 2 S J o h n S u l l i v a n 1 1 Centre for Physiotherapy A B S T R A C T and knee-joint 25 26 injuries have been associated Research, University of Otago, O b j e c t i v e The purpose of this study was to compare with altered electromyographic (EMG) activity of Dunedin, New Zealand 2 Department of Anatomy and the electromyographic (EMG) activity of gluteal and lumbopelvic and lower-limb muscles. Specifi cally, Structural Biology, University thigh muscles of sportspeople with a recent hamstring increased hamstring activity while walking has of Otago, Dunedin, New injury with uninjured controls during a weight-bearing been observed in individuals with lower-back Zealand task. pain (LBP) 27 and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) Study design Cross-sectional. defi ciencies. 28 Increased hamstring activity has Correspondence to Dr Gisela Sole, Centre of S e t t i n g University laboratory. also been observed during an experimental task of Physiotherapy Research, P a r t i c i p a n t s 16 participants with a hamstring injury change from double- to single-leg stance in indi- University of Otago, Box 56, (hamstring-injured group, HG) and 18 control participants viduals with pelvic pain, 24 and decreased activa- Dunedin 9054, New Zealand; (control group (CG)) participated in the study. tion of the gluteus maximus (GMa), and increased g i s e l a . s o l e @ o t a g o . a c . n z Main outcome measure The EMG activity of gluteal, activation of hamstrings has been observed clini- 29 Accepted 3 February 2011 quadriceps and hamstring muscles was recorded during cally in patients with hamstring injuries. a movement from double- to single-leg movement using Verrall et al 14 suggested that following an injury surface electrodes. of the knee or groin, the biomechanical proper- R e s u l t s The EMG onsets of biceps femoris and medial ties of the lower limbs may change, thereby con- hamstrings were signifi cantly earlier for the HG injured and tributing towards increased susceptibility of a the uninjured sides in preparation for single-leg standing future hamstring injury. We have hypothesised when compared with the CG average. There were no that changes in neuromuscular control associ- differences in onsets for the gluteal and quadriceps ated with other injuries, in particular, increased muscles when comparing the injured or uninjured legs of hamstring muscle activation, could potentially the HG to the bilateral average of the CG. lead to increased cumulative loading for these C o n c l u s i o n The earlier onset of the injured and the muscles, thereby increasing their risk for injury. 30 uninjured hamstrings in preparation for single leg stance However, neuromuscular control as evidenced by of the HG in comparison with the CG suggests an EMG activation patterns of the agonist, syner- alteration in the motor control of these muscles. Altered gist and antagonist pelvic and lower-limb muscles neuromuscular control following a hamstring injury has not been investigated in sportspeople with may be a factor to be considered in the rehabilitation of hamstring injuries. Investigation of this poten- hamstring injuries. tial injury mechanism may contribute towards a better understanding of neuromotor control of the hamstrings and lead to studies to determine I N T R O D U C T I O N whether exercise that focuses on neuromuscular Non-contact hamstring injuries are common in control reduces the incidence and risk of ham- sports that include sprinting, acceleration and string injury. kicking, and have a high rate of recurrence and The aim of this study was to compare the decreased performance levels. 1–5 Traditional recruitment patterns of gluteal and thigh muscles rehabilitation and prevention strategies for this during transition from double to single leg stance injury have used outcome measures that include in participants with and without a recent ham- hamstring muscle strength and fl exibility. 6–9 string injury. The secondary aim of the study is Interestingly, recent research has suggested that to compare the between-trial variability of EMG exercises focusing on improving neuromuscular onsets in participants with and without a recent control around the lumbar spine and pelvis, 10 as hamstring injury. well as sports-specifi c skills and enhanced bal- ance performance, may also reduce recurrence. 11 M E T H O D S Impaired movement discrimination during open P a r t i c i p a n t s chain movements of the lower limb have also been Seventeen male participants clinically diagnosed associated with an increased risk of hamstring as having a hamstring injury and 19 non-injured injury. 12 Thus, disturbed sensory input and inhib- healthy male controls volunteered to participate ited neuromuscular control may need to be con- in this study. All participants read the informa- sidered in the evaluation of hamstring injuries. tion sheet and signed a consent form, which was Not only previous hamstring injury 4 13–17 but approved by the University of Otago Human also knee injury, osteitis pubis 14 and calf-muscle Ethics Committee. Inclusion criteria for the ham- injury 18 appear to place the sportsperson at risk string-injured group (HG) were sportspeople who of either a new or recurrent hamstring injury. had: (1) sudden onset of non-impact posterior Anecdotal evidence suggests that lumbar 3 19 20 and thigh pain during a match, competition or train- sacro-iliac disorders 21 can also predispose people ing within the previous 12 months; (2) an injury to hamstring injuries. Low-back, 22 groin, 23 pelvis 24 severe enough to have required intervention by a SoleCopyright G, Milosavljevic Article S, Nicholson author H, et al. Br(or J Sportstheir Med employer) (2011). doi:10.1136/bjsm.2010.079343 2011. Produced by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd under licence.1 of 6 Downloaded from bjsm.bmj.com on March 28, 2011 - Published by group.bmj.com Original article health professional; (3) an injury severe enough to have caused it was lifted. 33 This appeared as an increase in the vertical the sportsperson to miss at least one offi cial match, competi- ground force (at T1) of that leg before the force decreased tion or at least 1 week of regular training; 15 31 and (4) returned until it reached zero when the foot lifted off the force plate at least partially to sports training. The inclusion criteria for (T2) ( fi gure 1 ). The start of the APA (T1) was determined for the control group (CG) were (1) no known history of ham- each trial using a Microsoft Excel graph ( fi gure 1 ). 24 All muscle string injury in the past that required intervention by a health onsets for the hip-fl exion task were expressed relative to T1, professional and (2) currently participating fully in their regu- with a negative value indicating onset of activity prior to the lar sports training. Exclusion criteria for both groups were (1) APA and a positive value indicating onset following the APA. knee or lumbo-pelvic injury that required health professional The time at which the foot lifted off the force plate (T2) was intervention and (2) known neurological, cardiorespiratory or computed by using the LabVIEW version 5.0 program as the systemic disorder. point at which the z-force reached zero (fi gure 1 ). The reaction time was defi ned as the difference between the times of the EMG recordings visual signal and the start of the APA (T1), and the movement EMG activity was recorded bilaterally using pairs of Ag/ time was defi ned as the difference between the time of the AgCl surface electrodes (Blue Sensor disposable electrodes; visual signal and the time at which the foot lifted off the force Medicotest A/S, Ølstykke, Denmark), which were placed on plate (T2). the following muscles using Surface ElectroMyoGraphy for the Non-Invasive Assessment of Muscles guidelines: 32 vastus Statistical analysis lateralis, vastus medialis, rectus femoris, biceps femoris (BF), Mean differences (95% CI) between groups were calculated medial hamstrings (MH), gluteus medius and GMa, with a for EMG onsets. Within-group differences were analysed centre-to-centre distance of 25 mm. The ground electrode was using paired t tests, comparing injured with uninjured sides positioned on the sternum. The skin was prepared by shav- of the HG, and the CG preferred with non-preferred sides. ing and cleaning with alcohol swabs, and abraded fi rmly with Preliminary analysis showed no signifi cant side-to-side dif- a hand towel to reduce the electrical impedance to less than ferences for variables of the controls. For the between-group 10 kΩ (1% of the system’s input impedance). analyses, the variables of the preferred and non-preferred sides EMG data were collected with an eight-channel TeleMyo of the controls were thus averaged. The variables of the HG telemetric hardware system (Noraxon USA, Scottsdale, injured and the uninjured sides were compared respectively Arizona). The system’s amplifi er has a gain of 2000 and an with the controls’ bilateral average using independent t tests.