Objective: To review the quality of reporting and identify the content of exercise interventions prescribed for hamstring strain injury (HSI) rehabilitation in the scientific literature from 2010 to 2020.
Design: Scoping review.
Literature search: We searched the bibliometric databases Web of Science, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, Scopus, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, and Embase.
Study selection criteria: Original research articles (randomized controlled trials and cohort studies) published from 2010 to 2020 that described an exercise rehabilitation intervention for participants with acute HSIs were included. Injuries must have been confirmed within 7 days of occurrence via clinical assessment and/or diagnostic imaging.
Data synthesis: The quality of reporting, in terms of completeness of exercise intervention description, was evaluated using the Consensus on Exercise Reporting Template (CERT), and the content of interventions was categorized into exercise types.
Results: Fourteen studies were included; exercise intervention quality of reporting was moderate in 3 studies and low in 11 studies. Using the 19-item CERT, an average of 8.8 items (range, 4-14) were reported across all studies. Two studies reported sufficient exercise content and progression information to allow replication. Exercises categorized as hamstring flexibility, hamstring strength, running related, and non-hamstring specific were prescribed in 13, 11, 10, and 10 studies, respectively. Half of the included studies incorporated all 4 exercise types in their exercise interventions.
Conclusion: There is a wide variety of exercise interventions applied in published research that has addressed HSI rehabilitation. Researchers must improve reporting quality to support other professionals in replicating exercise interventions and help practitioners to effectively implement research in practice. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2022;52(3):130-141. Epub 21 Sep 2021. doi:10.2519/jospt.2022.10641.
Keywords: CERT; exercise interventions; hamstring strain injury; rehabilitation; reporting quality.