Research summary · Injury prevention
Comparing hamstring-prevention programmes in football
A network meta-analysis compares exercise programmes intended to prevent hamstring injuries in football.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised trials
- Journal
- Sports Medicine - Open
- Population / context
- Football players · Youth and adult
What the publication reports
Eleven randomised trials involved 9,282 players. FIFA 11+ had the most consistent exposure-adjusted association with fewer hamstring injuries than usual training (incidence rate ratio 0.55; 95% confidence interval 0.31–0.98), while estimates for other programme nodes were less clear.
Limits and interpretation
The network was mostly star-shaped with no direct comparisons between active programmes. Substantial heterogeneity, sparse nodes and moderate-to-high risk of bias produced low- to very-low-certainty evidence, so the ranking is not a firm prescription.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
Comparative Effectiveness of Exercise Interventions for Hamstring Injury Prevention in Football Players: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-analysis
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 42742879DOI: 10.1186/s40798-026-01087-wFull text at the sourceReader discussion
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