Key result
Hamstrings muscle volume correlated with knee flexor maximal strength (r=0.62-0.76, P<0.01), whereas biceps femoris long head muscle composition was not associated with strength.
Cross-Sectional (n=31)
Hamstrings muscle volume, rather than fiber composition, is the primary determinant of knee flexor maximal strength, challenging the notion that hamstrings are predominantly 'fast' muscles.
Muscle volume merits consideration in strength assessments; leaves open composition's role in outcomes.
Hamstrings muscle fiber composition may be predominantly fast-twitch and could explain the high incidence of hamstrings strain injuries. However, hamstrings muscle composition in vivo, and its influence on knee flexor muscle function, remains unknown. We investigated biceps femoris long head (BFlh) myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition from biopsy samples, and the association of hamstrings composition and hamstrings muscle volume (using MRI) with knee flexor maximal and explosive strength. Thirty-one young men performed maximal (concentric, eccentric, isometric) and explosive (isometric) contractions. BFlh exhibited a balanced MHC distribution [mean ± SD (min-max); 47.1 ± 9.1% (32.6-71.0%) MHC-I, 35.5 ± 8.5% (21.5-60.0%) MHC-IIA, 17.4 ± 9.1% (0.0-30.9%) MHC-IIX]. Muscle volume was correlated with knee flexor maximal strength at all velocities and contraction modes (r = 0.62-0.76, P < 0.01), but only associated with late phase explosive strength (time to 90 Nm; r = -0.53, P < 0.05). In contrast, BFlh muscle composition was not related to any maximal or explosive strength measure. BFlh MHC composition was not found to be "fast", and therefore composition does not appear to explain the high incidence of hamstrings strain injury. Hamstrings muscle volume explained 38-58% of the inter-individual differences in knee flexor maximum strength at a range of velocities and contraction modes, while BFlh muscle composition was not associated with maximal or explosive strength.
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Evangelidis et al. (2016) reported a cross-sectional. Hamstrings muscle volume and composition was evaluated on Association of hamstrings composition and volume with knee flexor maximal and explosive strength (r = 0.62-0.76, p=<0.01). Hamstrings muscle volume correlated with knee flexor maximal strength (r=0.62-0.76, P<0.01), whereas biceps femoris long head muscle composition was not associated with strength.
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