Changes in Eccentric Hamstring Strength and Muscle Soreness in Younger and Older Male Football Players Following Match Play

Abstract

Introduction: Hamstring strains commonly occur late in football matches. Hamstring injury risk rises with age and fatigue. This study investigated eccentric hamstring strength and perceived hamstring soreness after a football match in younger and older players. Methods: Maximal eccentric hamstring strength and perceived soreness were assessed in younger (n = 11, 20.2 +/- 1.1 years, total playing time: 34.5 +/- 8.8 min) and older (n = 10, 27.4 +/- 3.7 years, total playing time: 44 +/- 10.5 min) professional male football players before and after a friendly match aimed at selecting the primary team for the upcoming season. A two-way mixed model ANOVA was employed for statistical analyses. Furthermore, Hedges' (adjusted) g effect sizes were calculated to evaluate the magnitude of effects. Results: The older group experienced significant reductions in absolute (-20 N +/- 38.5, g = 0.58, p = 0.027) and relative (-0.26 N/kg +/- 0.5, g = 0.43, p = 0.038) maximal eccentric hamstring strength, while younger group showed no changes (absolute: 3 N +/- 36.1, g = 0.07, p = 0.773; relative: -0.037 N/kg +/- 0.54, g = 0.07, p = 0.783). There was no statistically significant difference between groups for the absolute (p = 0.195; g = 0.45) and relative (p = 0.226, g = 0.43) eccentric strength changes. On the other hand, both groups reported increases in perceived hamstring soreness after the match (older: 29% +/- 14.1, p < 0.001; younger: 40% +/- 14.9, p < 0.001), with the younger group reporting more significantly higher soreness changes than the older group (11% +/- 17.2, p = 0.025). A significant negative association existed between age and eccentric strength changes (R = -0.447, R2 = 0.2, p = 0.007). Conclusions: The older group showed significant declines in eccentric hamstring strength after the match, with age as a predictor. Specialists should focus on enhancing eccentric strength in older players and monitor their recovery to minimise injury risk. Future psycho-physiological research should examine muscle soreness perceptions and force production in fatigued younger and older football players. The results must be interpreted with caution due to the shorter playing time, unaccounted match workload, and limited sample size. Moreover, future research is necessary, including workload and performance metrics over a longer play duration for each player, with a larger sample size to achieve more reliable conclusions.