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Description
PREVALENCE Female athletes experience Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries 5-6x more often than male counterparts.
PREDISPOSITIONAL FACTORS The Q-angle refers to the pull vector exerted by the quadriceps muscle on the patella which results in greater valgus load on the knee ligaments.2,3,4,5,6 Females also possess lower levels of testosterone which yield decreased ligamentous strain tolerances.
MUSCULAR IMBALANCES Sufficient hamstring contraction during the landing phase decreases ACL strain by >70%, thereby limiting anterior tibial translation (ATT) force exerted by the quadriceps. As stated by Hewett et al., females present an absence of increased hamstring/quadricep torque ratio compared to males, resulting in inevitable ATT and external valgus torque.33 Refer to image below.
NORDIC HAMSTRING EXERCISE (NHE) The NHE (Fig 2) has been found to enhance maximal eccentric knee flexor torque. A study by Opar et al. revealed that athletes performing NHEs experienced a 6.3% reduction in hamstring injury risk and ended their season with a 17% higher non-injured rate. A 2022 study conducted by Nishida et al. concluded that NH strength did not correlate to knee flexor torque, but the limitations of this study included inclusivity to males and knee flexor torque values being assessed in prone.
Publication Date
4-16-2025
Disciplines
Higher Education | Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Recommended Citation
Plank, Jarrod; Singleton, Lucy; and Probst, Manuel, "Effect of Nordic Hamstring Exercise on Knee Flexor Torque in Female Athletes: A Pilot Study" (2025). 2025 Celebration of Student Scholarship - Poster Presentations. 66.
https://scholarworks.moreheadstate.edu/celebration_posters_2025/66