Strength Endurance Test: Hamstring Bridge (DL+SL)

The Single Leg Hamstring Bridge is another great strength assessment for posterior chain lower limb strength that requires little equipment to perform.

Research by Freckleton, Cook, and Pizzari, 2013 investigated this test and its risk of a hamstring injury in football players finding that those who were unable to perform 25+ repetitions of this test.

Procedure:

1. The client lies in a supine position with one foot on a 60cm or 24" height box or bench at the position of the ankle joint.
2. Hands are placed on the hips to standardize arm position and the opposite leg is flexed to approximately 90° of hip flexion.
3. The assessor should mark the point at which the opposite knee reaches at maximum height. This is the point of full hip extension of the testing leg.
4. The client is cued to flex and extend the testing leg from the hip, touching the hips to the floor and touching the opposite knee at the level marked by the assessor.
5. Failure is noted when the client is unable to complete full extension 2x consecutively. 

The double-leg version is performed the same way with both feet positioned on the box/bench.

References: 

• Freckleton, Grant, Jill Cook, and Tania Pizzari. "The predictive validity of a single leg bridge test for hamstring injuries in Australian Rules Football Players." British journal of sports medicine 48.8 (2014): 713-717.
• Pori, Primož, et al. "Predictive validity of the single leg hamstring bridge test in military settings." Applied Sciences 11.4 (2021): 1822.
• Mahnič, N., et al. "The Single Leg Bridge Test (SLBT) as a field test to measure hamstring strength in young footballers." Science & Sports 36.5 (2021): 417-e1.