Clubs to save money with hamstring tester

ELITE sports clubs could save hundreds of millions in lost player time with the invention of an on-field hamstring tester.

The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is working with a portable prototype that can help determine which players are most likely to hurt their hamstring.

The University says it has already caught the eye of English premier league soccer clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.

Hamstring tears are the most common sports injury in the world, with injured players typically missing three to six weeks of competition and training.

And players are likely to reinjure the tendons within a year, says QUT Faculty of Health lecturer and researcher Dr Tony Shield.

The device is currently being trialled by six AFL clubs, the Queensland Reds and a number of track and field athletes including long jump Olympic silver medallist Mitchell Watt.

Dr Shield said the device aims to provide almost immediate and accurate measures of athletes' hamstring strength to compare strength between limbs and monitor the progress that players make across the pre-season or in rehabilitation.

"Armed with this information, a trainer can make a more informed decision on what types of strength training need to be employed and whether a player is fit to take the field," he said in a statement on Friday.

Until now, the best measure of hamstring strength and injury risk had been via an isokinetic dynamometer - a large, heavy and immobile machine found in only a few dozen university exercise science facilities around the country.

Despite providing excellent data, dynamometers cost up to $100,000, making them accessible to only the wealthiest sporting clubs.

They also need at least two full days to test a squad of 40 or more AFL players, whereas 44 were tested in two hours using the QUT prototype, Dr Shield said.

With worldwide interest already high, he said the device will hopefully be available within a year at a cost of around $10,000.

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