Contralateral leg deficits in kinetic and kinematic variables during running in Australian rules football players with previous hamstring injuries.

Contralateral leg deficits between lower limbs during athletic movements are thought to increase the risk of injury and compromise performance. The purpose of this study was to quantify the magnitude of leg deficits during running in noninjured and previously injured Australian Rules football (ARF) players. The players included a group of noninjured ARF players (n = 11) and a group of previously injured ARF players (n = 11; hamstring injuries only). The players in the injured group (IG) had at least 1 acute hamstring injury in the previous 2 years. The legs of the noninjured players (NIG) were classified as right and left, whereas the legs of the injured players were classified as injured or noninjured. The players ran on a nonmotorized force treadmill at approximately 80% of their maximum velocity (Vmax). For the NIG, there were no significant differences between right and left legs for any of the variables. For the IG, the only variable that was significantly (p < 0.001) different between the injured and noninjured leg was horizontal force (175 +/- 30 vs. 326 +/- 44 N). Furthermore, horizontal force was significantly greater in the noninjured leg (IG) in comparison with either legs in the NIG (19.2% and 20.5%) and significantly less in the injured leg (IG) in comparison with either legs of the NIG (31.5% and 32.7%). In the present study, athletes with previous hamstring injuries had contralateral leg deficits in horizontal but not vertical force during running at submaximal velocities.