PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Bramah, Chris
AU  - Dos’Santos, Thomas
TI  - 50 The association between the Sprint Mechanics Assessment Score (S-MAS) to retrospective and prospective Hamstring Strain Injuries in elite football players
AID  - 10.1136/bmjsem-2023-sportskongres2023.20
DP  - 2023 Feb 01
TA  - BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine
PG  - A7--A8
VI  - 9
IP  - Suppl 1
4099  - http://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/9/Suppl_1/A7.3.short
4100  - http://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/9/Suppl_1/A7.3.full
SO  - BMJ OPEN SP EX MED2023 Feb 01; 9
AB  - Introduction Sprint running mechanics are thought to be a risk factor for Hamstring Strain Injuries (HSI). However, there is limited evidence to support this association, which may be explained by the lack of in-field assessment methods to evaluate sprint running mechanics.This study aimed to investigate whether a new qualitative screening tool, the Sprint Mechanics Assessment Score (S-MAS), can identify differences in running mechanics between players who have sustained a HSI in the last 12 months (Prior HSI), those prospectively sustaining a new HSI, and controls.Materials and Methods Maximal velocity sprint running videos (240fps) were collected from 79 elite football players (18 female, 61 male) in the English Football League. A blinded assessor scored all videos using the S-MAS (12-point qualitative screening tool for sprint mechanics).Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare S-MAS between injured groups (Prior HSI, n=12 and New HSI, n=3) to sex-matched controls (n=41).Results Mean S-MAS for the Prior HSI group (6.2, SD 1.9) were significantly greater than controls (4.4, SD 2.4) (p <.05, Effect size (ES) = 0.76). Players sustaining a new HSI also displayed greater S-MAS scores compared to controls (mean 6.3, SD 0.6, ES = 0.8), however this was non-significant (p = .187).Conclusion S-MAS scores are higher in footballers with HSI’s compared to controls, suggesting sub-optimal sprint mechanics are associated with previous and possibly future HSI. The easy-to-use nature of the S-MAS means screening sprint running mechanics can be simply integrated into routine practice, potentially identifying footballers at HSI risk.