**2. Epidemiology**

Muscle contusion is one the most common cause of morbidity from sports-related injuries, together with sprains and strains. Muscle trauma mainly results from sporting activities and accounts for 15 to 50% of sports injuries. Muscle injuries are the most common injuries in sports, with hamstring injuries accounting for 29% of all injuries in athletes. The playing style, refereeing, extent and intensity of match play might influence changes in the incidence of injuries in top-level tournaments. Strict application of the Laws of the Games is an important means of injury prevention (Junge and Dvorak, 2013). A good training and a good warmingup are suggested to reduce muscle injuries.
