FATIGUE INDUCED POSTURAL CHANGES IN AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL PLAYERS WITH AND WITHOUT A HISTORY OF HAMSTRING INJURY

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of game fatigue on sprint mechanics in Australian Rules Football (ARF) players with and without a history of hamstring strain injury (HSI). Thirty community level ARF players, 11 with a HSI within the previous two years, undertook a game protocol simulating the running requirements of an ARF match. Three-dimensional kinematic trunk and lower limb data of 10 sprints were collected prior to the game protocol, and at the end of each simulated quarter, allowing the influence of game fatigue to be assessed. In players with a history of HSI, joint angle data revealed changes in sagittal plane hip and lumbar spine position with increasing fatigue. Persistent hamstring dysfunction may be revealed as the athlete progresses through a game and has potential implications for injury recurrence