Foot Position Influences Hamstring Activity

Can foot position influence hamstring muscle activity?

In some exercises, yes it can.

In this fascinating paper by Beuchat & Maffiuletti (2019), they found in a group of ACLR patients (9-15 months post-op) who had a hamstring graft, that when compared to a neutral foot position, an internally rotated foot position (foot turning inwards) during a prone hamstring curl significantly increased the activity of the medial hamstring muscle group.

However the authors found that during the Nordic Hamstring exercise or a Bridge exercise that foot position did not influence the activity of the medial hamstrings.

What do you make of this research?

How do you go about trying to target the hamstring harvest tissue after ACLR?

Will this change your clinical practice?

Let me know in the comments section below.

If you’re interested in diving into this research a bit deeper, click on the link here

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