Field-based sprint kinematic technologies for hamstring injury-risk assessment: A scoping review

Hamstring strain injuries (HSIs) represent a persistent burden in sprint-based sports, with professional clubs experiencing multiple injuries per season despite targeted prevention efforts. Current prevention approaches predominantly focus on enhancing tissue tolerance through eccentric strength training, addressing only one component of the strain-tolerance relationship. The mechanical demands imposed by sprint kinematics—which modulate hamstring loading through individual kinematic variations—remain largely unquantified in applied settings due to limited practical assessment tools. Recent advances in field-based sprint kinematic technologies now enable assessment of these mechanical demands in ecologically valid training and competition environments. However, the validity, reliability, and practical applicability of available technologies for HSI-risk assessment remain inadequately established. This scoping review will identify field-based technologies used to assess sprint kinematics in applied settings, characterise their reported validity, reliability, and practical applicability, and synthesise evidence regarding their application to HSI-risk assessment, identifying knowledge gaps to enable evidence-based implementation.