Video Analysis of Acute Hamstring Injury Mechanisms During Deadlifts

Existing studies on the mechanisms leading to acute hamstring injury are limited by reliance on author extrapolation and patient recall for injury details.

This study aims to determine potential mechanisms for acute hamstring strain injuries during deadlifts via videographic observations in vivo.

Videos were searched on the website “YouTube.com” using each of the phrases “hamstring rupture”, “hamstring tear”, “hamstring injury”, “hamstring strain”, and “hamstring pull”, combined individually with the terms “deadlift”, “powerlifting”, and “competition”. An orthopaedic surgeon validated 16 video clips based on pre-set criteria.

16 injury events were analyzed. Hip flexion (n=11) and knee semi-flexion (n=16) were the most common positions leading to injury. The most common injury pattern was a combination of hip flexion with knee semi-flexion and eccentric hamstring loading (n=11). Concentric hamstring loading was observed leading to injury in 3 cases.

Acute hamstring injuries during deadlifts occurred by eccentric hamstring loading with a semi-flexed knee and a flexed or semi-flexed hip, or by concentric hamstring loading with a semi-flexed knee and semi-flexed hip.