Reference no: EM133435037

Experimental Study - Hamstring Injury Prevention

For this activity, we will be examining an original article that examined the use of the Nordic hamstring exercise (NHE) to prevent hamstring injuries in soccer. It was designed as a randomized controlled trial.

The article is:

Van der Horst N, Smits D-W, Petersen J, Goedhart EA, and Backx FJG. 2015. The preventive effect of the Nordic hamstring exercise on hamstring injuries in amateur soccer players. Am J Sports Medicine 43:1316 - 1323

Answer the following questions using information from the Van der Horst et al. article.

1. What was the main research question of this study?

2. What features of this study tell us that it is a randomized controlled trial?

3. Describe how the study participants were randomized to the intervention and control groups.

4. Randomization should result in the two groups having comparable baseline characteristics. Using the information in Table 2, comment on the comparability of the intervention and control groups. Provide examples that support your assessment.

5. Describe the exposure/intervention of the study.

6. How was the exposure measured?

7. In an RCT, the compliance rate with the intervention is very important in determining whether the intervention works.

a. What was the compliance rate for the intervention group?
b. Do you think this was high enough? Why or why not?

8. Describe the outcome of this study.

9. How did the authors measure this outcome?

10. Did the authors observe a decrease in risk of hamstring injuries in the intervention group after performing the NHE protocol? Provide support for your answer.

11. In the discussion, the authors state that they did not blind the study participants. Explain what this means and why blinding might be a consideration in evaluating the results of this study.

12. Describe why the results of this study might have important implications internationally.