Psychological risk factors for a first hamstring strain injury in soccer: a qualitative study.

Hamstring strains are common and disruptive in soccer, and most research into why they happen has focused on physical and biomechanical factors rather than psychological ones. This study took a different approach, interviewing ten male competitive players who had recently experienced their first hamstring strain, to explore what psychological and contextual circumstances surrounded the injury. Through thematic analysis of these interviews, the researchers identified recurring threads: players often described an intense, almost obsessive attachment to soccer, a strong sense of identity tied to being an athlete, and limited understanding of health-related risks. Many also described coaching environments that felt controlling, along with worry about being judged poorly by staff, and recent stressful life events.

Because this is a small, qualitative study based on personal accounts rather than a trial testing cause and effect, the findings offer insight into player experiences rather than proof that these factors cause injury, and they may not reflect all soccer players' situations.

If you play soccer and have dealt with a hamstring strain, this study offers a look at what some other players were going through around the time of their first injury, beyond just physical strain. Researchers talked in depth with ten male competitive players who had recently injured their hamstring, asking about their mindset, environment, and recent life circumstances. Several patterns came up repeatedly in these conversations: players often felt a deep, almost consuming passion for the game, saw themselves strongly as athletes, and didn't always have a clear sense of injury risks or how their choices affected their health.

Many also described coaches who felt controlling and worried about being judged negatively, plus stressful events happening in their lives around that time. This was a small set of interviews, not a study proving that these factors cause injuries, so it can't tell you whether this applies to you specifically. But it does suggest that the mental and emotional side of playing through pressure might be worth understanding alongside the physical side.

This is a summary of research, not medical advice. Talk to your own healthcare provider about anything affecting your care.

This qualitative study speaks to a question that physical and biomechanical injury-risk research hasn't addressed: what psychological and contextual experiences surround a player's first hamstring strain? Using semi-structured interviews with ten male competitive soccer players and thematic analysis guided by multifactorial sports injury models, the researchers explored individual, contextual, and situational factors present at the time of injury. The analysis identified themes including at-risk personality traits, obsessive passion for soccer with competitive motivational goals, strong athletic identity, and poor health literacy among players, alongside exposure to a controlling coaching style, fear of negative staff evaluation, and recent life stressors. Injuries tended to occur during matches or periods of high training load when players were highly engaged.

These findings may inform how clinicians think about contextual and psychological dimensions of injury history conversations, such as athlete identity, coach-athlete dynamics, or health literacy gaps, but they describe lived experience rather than measured risk. The small sample size, retrospective interview design, and lack of a comparison group mean this study cannot establish which factors actually increase injury risk or how prevalent these experiences are among soccer players more broadly.