International Journal of Sports Medicine<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Freitas, S. R., Abrantes, F., Santos, F., Mascarenhas, V., Oliveira, R., Firmino, T., \u2026 & Vaz, J. R.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ABSTRACT<\/strong>
This study examined whether professional footballers with previous biceps femoris long head (BFLH) injury in the last 3-years present a smaller proximal aponeurosis (Apo-BFLH) size compared to footballers with no previous injury. We examined the Apo-BFLH and BFLH size using magnetic resonance imaging and tested the knee flexor maximal isometric strength in 80 thighs of 40 footballers. Apo-BFLH size parameters were processed using a semi-automated procedure. Outcomes were compared between thighs with (n=9) vs. without (n=71) previous BFLH injury. No differences were observed between injured and non-injured thighs for the Apo-BFLH and BFLH size parameters (p>0.05) except for Apo-BFLH volume, which was higher in the non-injured thighs of athletes with previous injury (3692.1\u00b12638.4 mm3, p<0.006) compared to the left (2274.1\u00b1798.7 mm3) thighs of athletes without previous injury. A higher knee flexor isometric strength was observed in the injured limb of athletes with previous BFLH injury (196.5\u00b131.9 Nm, p<0.003) compared to the left (156.2\u00b131.4 Nm) and right (160.0\u00b131.4 Nm) thighs of non-injured athletes. The present results suggest that BFLH proximal aponeurosis size should not be considered as an independent risk factor for strain injury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n