Why does the kicking action in say soccer or Australian rules football produce so many hamstring problems? I realise it has something to do with the combination of knee extension and hip flexion, however, I don’t quite understand the details of this. Can somebody explain what happens to the hamstring when performing this movement and why it is so troublesome? Cheers.
The hamstring gets a fast eccentric contraction when the quads contract forefully. You really do need to have good hamstring flexibilty. I’ll assume you are from Aust. Look at what happened to Steve Waugh. He’s prone to hamstring injuries possibly be due to overrelying on front thigh muscles. In cases where the quads are needed to produce kicks (in AFL and soccer) etc, you must make sure your hamstring is in balance and flexible enough.
Stretch and stretch till your hamstrings can’t stretch any further. I personally regard the hamstring as a more important muscle than the quads. Look after them and you won’t have any problems or at least minimise your chances of injury.