Why Nordic Hamstring Exercises Reduce Hamstring Injuries: What the Research Shows

Hamstring injuries are among the most common and frustrating setbacks in sport and fitness. They tend to occur suddenly, often during sprinting or high-speed movement, and they have a frustrating habit of recurring. For athletes, coaches, and anyone who trains regularly, preventing these injuries in the first place is far more valuable than treating them after the fact. A systematic review and meta-analysis published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine examined whether including the Nordic hamstring exercise in injury prevention programmes could meaningfully reduce hamstring injury rates — and the findings are worth paying attention to.

What This Study Examined

The researchers set out to answer a straightforward but important question: does adding the Nordic hamstring exercise to an injury prevention programme reduce the rate of hamstring injuries?

The Nordic hamstring exercise — sometimes called the Nordic curl — is an eccentric strength exercise where a person kneels on the ground, anchors their feet, and slowly lowers their upper body toward the floor while resisting with their hamstrings. It places a significant load on the hamstring muscles during the lengthening phase of the movement, which is precisely when hamstring strains most commonly occur.

The study's goal was to pool data from multiple individual studies to produce a more reliable overall estimate of the exercise's protective effect. Rather than relying on a single trial, a systematic review and meta-analysis allows researchers to look across the available body of evidence and draw broader conclusions.

How the Study Was Conducted

This research was conducted as a systematic review and meta-analysis, meaning the authors gathered and analysed data from multiple previously published studies rather than running a new experiment from scratch.

The researchers searched the scientific literature for studies that included the Nordic hamstring exercise as part of an injury prevention programme and measured hamstring injury rates as an outcome. Eligible studies were evaluated and their data combined statistically to calculate an overall effect.

This type of methodology is considered one of the higher levels of evidence in sports science because it synthesises findings across different populations, settings, and study designs. By combining data in this way, the researchers were able to look at the collective picture of what happens to hamstring injury rates when the Nordic hamstring exercise is included in a training programme — compared to when it is not.

Key Findings

The results of the meta-analysis were notable. According to the study, including the Nordic hamstring exercise in injury prevention programmes halved the rate of hamstring injuries.

To summarise the key findings:

• The research found that programmes incorporating the Nordic hamstring exercise were associated with substantially lower rates of hamstring injuries compared to control groups that did not include the exercise.

• The results suggest that the Nordic hamstring exercise, when used as part of a structured prevention programme, can reduce hamstring injury rates by approximately 50%.

• The findings applied across different populations and sporting contexts included in the reviewed studies.

• Researchers observed that the protective effect was consistent enough across the included trials to draw meaningful conclusions through the meta-analytic approach.

These findings align with what is understood about eccentric training and hamstring function. Eccentric strength — the ability of a muscle to produce force while lengthening — plays a significant role in protecting the hamstrings during the high-speed movements where injuries most often occur. The Nordic hamstring exercise directly trains this capacity.

What This Means for Training

Taken together, these findings suggest that adding Nordic hamstring exercises to a regular training programme could be a meaningful strategy for reducing hamstring injury risk — particularly for people involved in sports or activities that involve sprinting, cutting, or rapid changes in direction.

For recreational athletes, gym-goers, and competitive athletes alike, the implications are fairly practical. The Nordic hamstring exercise requires minimal equipment and can be incorporated into a warm-up, strength training session, or dedicated injury prevention routine. It does not require a machine or specialised facility — just a way to anchor the feet and a surface to kneel on.

From a coaching perspective, this type of research reinforces the value of including targeted eccentric exercises in programme design rather than focusing solely on concentric-dominant movements like leg curls or leg presses. The hamstrings need to be trained in a lengthened position under load to develop the kind of eccentric resilience that protects against strains.

It is worth noting, however, that the Nordic hamstring exercise is demanding. People who are new to it often experience significant delayed onset muscle soreness in the early weeks. A gradual introduction — starting with lower volumes and progressing over time — is generally recommended in practice. Working with a qualified personal trainer can help ensure the exercise is introduced appropriately and performed with correct technique, which matters both for safety and for getting the most out of the movement.

If you are based in Reno and looking for guidance on building a well-rounded injury-resilient training programme, Atlas Personal Training connects clients with experienced coaches who can help structure these kinds of evidence-informed approaches to training.

Limitations of the Study

While the findings of this meta-analysis are compelling, it is important to consider some limitations:

• Population variability: The studies included in the meta-analysis likely involved different types of athletes, age groups, and competitive levels. The degree to which results translate across all populations is not fully certain.

• Programme variation: The specific protocols used to implement the Nordic hamstring exercise differed across studies. Factors like volume, frequency, and how the exercise was progressed may have influenced results, making direct comparisons across studies somewhat complex.

• Compliance challenges: Systematic reviews are limited by the quality of the underlying studies. In real-world settings, compliance with injury prevention programmes — including the Nordic curl — can be inconsistent, which may affect how well results translate to practice.

• Injury definitions: Different studies may have used slightly different definitions of what counts as a hamstring injury, which can introduce some variability into the combined data.

• Causal inference: As with many observational and intervention-based analyses, the results suggest a strong association between the exercise and reduced injury rates, but individual variation, training history, and other programme factors also play a role.

These limitations do not undermine the findings, but they are worth keeping in mind when interpreting how broadly the conclusions apply.

Conclusion

The evidence presented in this systematic review and meta-analysis supports the inclusion of the Nordic hamstring exercise as part of a structured injury prevention approach. The research found that programmes incorporating this exercise were associated with roughly half the rate of hamstring injuries compared to those that did not include it — a finding that is both clinically meaningful and practically applicable.

Research like this helps inform how coaches and trainers structure programmes for athletes and active individuals at all levels. The Nordic hamstring exercise is not a complicated movement, but it is a powerful one when implemented thoughtfully and progressively. Whether you are a competitive athlete looking to stay on the field or someone who trains regularly and wants to reduce their risk of setbacks, eccentric hamstring training deserves a place in your programme.

To explore how evidence-based training principles can be applied to your personal goals, visit the Atlas coaches page to find a qualified trainer in Reno.

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Source

Including the Nordic hamstring exercise in injury prevention programmes halves the rate of hamstring injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2019. https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/53/21/1362