Train in Pain or Remain the Same – When & how to introduce high intensity eccentric exercises during hamstring rehabilitation (2CPD)

A study aimed to investigate the number of days following hamstring strain injury (HSI) taken to introduce high-intensity eccentric loading (HIEL) into rehabilitation, based on exercise-specific progression criteria, and whether pain resolution during isometric knee flexion strength testing occurred before or after this milestone.

Jack Hickey takes eccentric hamstring loading to the next level with this randomized control study.

This is the first study to demonstrate that high-intensity eccentric loading can be safely introduced into early HSI rehabilitation, based on exercise-specific progression criteria, without needing to wait for pain resolution during isometric knee flexion strength testing before doing so.
Practitioners should reconsider the common recommendation of waiting for pain to resolve during isometric knee flexion strength testing before introducing high-intensity eccentric loading into HSI.