Lower-limb strength and power assessed by pneumatic leg press in elite football players returning from thigh muscle strain injury
Thales Menezes Medeiros, Marco Aurélio Schiavo Reis, João Breno Ribeiro‐Alvares, Bruno Manfredini Baroni · Apunts Sports Medicine · 2026
Purpose: This study aimed to examine lower-limb strength and power using a pneumatic leg press test in elite male football players prior to their reintegration into team training following a thigh muscle strain injury and to compare their performance with that of injury-free controls.
Methods: Normative values for maximal strength (F max ) and power (P peak ) from 70 injury-free players were compared with those from 20 players at the end of the on-field rehabilitation stage following muscle strain injuries of the hamstrings, quadriceps or hip adductors.
Results: Injured players exhibited symmetrical F max (1590 ± 264 N vs. 1569 ± 259 N) and P peak (1226 ± 195 W vs. 1239 ± 173 W) values between involved and uninvolved limbs. P peak values in the injured group were also comparable to those observed in the left (1319 ± 201 W) and right limbs (1310 ± 184 W) of injury-free players. In contrast, both limbs of injured players demonstrated significantly lower F max values than the left (1932 ± 373 N) and right limbs (1939 ± 352 N) of the injury-free group (p < 0.001).
Conclusions: These
Findings: suggest that interlimb symmetry should not be interpreted in isolation but considered alongside pre-injury or normative reference values to support more informed return-to-sport decisions when using the pneumatic leg press test.