Hamstring strains are the number one muscle injury in soccer. In fact, recent analysis of elite men’s football shows that over 60% of all severe lower-limb muscle injuries involve the hamstrings, and most of these happen during high-speed actions like sprinting, accelerating, or changing direction on the dominant kicking leg.

But what makes players so vulnerable – and more importantly, what can we do about it?

Why Hamstring Injuries Happen

1. High-Speed Football Actions

Most hamstring strains occur during:

• Sprinting or rapid acceleration
  
• Sudden deceleration
  
• Stretching actions (closed-chain or open-chain)
  
• Kicking

These are explosive, horizontal movements where the hamstrings work hard to control momentum.

Result: The faster and more powerful the action, the greater the demand and the higher the risk.

2. Dominant Leg = Higher Risk

Research shows over 65% of hamstring injuries occur on the dominant/kicking leg. This leg typically handles more power, speed, and load especially during striking movements.

3. Most Hamstring Injuries Are Non-Contact

Over two-thirds of cases are non-contact, meaning they’re not caused by tackles but by the body’s own movement demands. This makes prevention and conditioning absolutely crucial and really effective.

The Biggest Risk Factor? A Previous Hamstring Injury

A major systematic review of 1,775 male soccer players found one clear predictor:

The strongest risk factor for a new hamstring injury is having had one before.

Things like:

• Hamstring “tightness”
  
• Flexibility
  
• Age
  
• Height or weight
  
• Hamstring–quadriceps strength ratio

Although linked to increased risk, were not consistently reliable predictors on their own but normally in conjunction with each other.

This means poor rehab, rushed return-to-play, dramatic increases in load is often what sets players up for repeated strains, not just “tight” hamstrings.

What This Means for Players & Coaches

1. Rehab MUST be thorough

Because the biggest risk factor is previous injury, the goal after a strain isn’t just to reduce pain, it’s to restore full strength, sprint capacity, and control before returning to training or matches.

2. Build resilience with strength training

Key elements include:

• Nordic hamstring training
  
• Hip-dominant lifting (RDLs, hip hinges)
  
• Horizontal force exercises (sled pushes/drags)
  
• Plyometrics
  
• Acceleration and deceleration drills
  

This combination builds a hamstring that can produce force AND absorb force, the ideal injury-resistant muscle.

3. Sprinting is a skill, train it

Most injuries happen at high speed. So to handle high speed safely, players need to train high speed regularly in a controlled way. This should be done before commencing full time training or even match simulation. 

Rehab Priority Continuum

Hamstring rehab should follow a clear priority pathway: begin with solid off-field strength work to rebuild capacity, then progress into plyometrics and sub-maximal speed work to reintroduce force and elasticity. From here, we start blending in low-speed skill work alongside individual near-maximal sprint exposures, helping bridge the gap between straight-line running and sport-specific demands. The final phase is reintegration into full training, followed by return to gameplay. This continuum is a guide, not a rigid rule. There’s always overlap between stages, and we often introduce light running (sub-70% speed) early, because low-speed running places minimal load on the hamstrings. Still, this structure helps ensure nothing important is skipped and that athletes build resilience step by step.

4. Manage weekly loads

Once a player returns to training it’s important that we continue managing weekly loads. Big spikes in sprint volume or match intensity increase risk of re-injury. A smart approach is progressive loading, keeping sprint exposure consistent week to week and gradually building up.

Take-Home Message

Hamstring injuries aren’t random, they’re the result of high-speed demands, dominant-leg overload, and incomplete rehab.

The good news? With the right strength, sprinting, and load-management strategies, we can significantly reduce the risk.

If you’ve struggled with repeated hamstring issues or want to stay ahead of them, our physio team can help you build a personalised, sport-specific program to get you stronger, faster, and more resilient on the pitch.