Functional hamstring/quadriceps ratio in footballers

Injuries and therefore injury prevention is a big topic in football, especially with regards to knee injuries (10, 34 - see references). The (fast and repeated) knee extensions during kicking (also shown in its correlation with isokinetic measurements (26)), seem to have an effect on the muscles influencing the knee joint. However, also the antagonist (flexion the knee - the hamstring muscle perform a lot of work during motions in football such as sprinting (24, 33, 39). The activity of the hamstring muscles during kicking was also correlated with isokinetic strength measurements (26) showing the importance of the knee flexors as well.

So how does football and its training influence the knee joint and possible injuries with regards to the quadriceps and hamstring muscles?