Coverage: October 24–30, 2026, using online-first publication dates. One clinically important October 5 review is included as a late-indexed carryover because it was not covered previously. No finding this week independently warrants a major practice change. The hamstring meta-analysis is the strongest clinical paper; the return-to-play framework and resisted-sprinting review offer useful programming structure. 1. Effects of rehabilitation interventions on time to return to play and reinjury rate in athletes with acute hamstring strain injuries Scientific Reports, October 5, 2026 — late-indexed carryover Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials Full article and DOI Methods and findings: Fourteen RCTs involving 693 athletes were synthesized. Exercise-based rehabilitation and adjunctive treatments were compared primarily for time to return to play, with reinjury as the secondary outcome. Risk of bias, GRADE certainty, and trial-sequential analysis were used. Two trials suggested that lengthening-focused rehabilitation shortened return time relative to conventional rehabilitation with moderate certainty. Reinjury certainty was low. Progressive agility and trunk stabilization did not clearly accelerate return, and its possible reinjury effect was highly uncertain. PRP results were heterogeneous across three trials; shockwave evidence came from one trial and low-level laser produced no added benefit in another. One pain-threshold trial—allowing pain up to 4/10—produced greater long-muscle-length strength and fascicle-length gains without delaying return or increasing observed reinjury. Evidence strength: Moderate for lengthening-focused exercise modestly accelerating return; low or very low for reinjury and adjunctive modalities. The review used appropriate certainty and clinical-importance assessments. However, the central exercise comparison rests on two trials, return definitions differed, and relatively few reinjuries make safety estimates imprecise.