Experimental group: eccentric (pain‐inducing) exercise protocol
knee flexion
CONTRACTIONS
Twenty‐six individuals were included in the experimental (pain‐inducing eccentric exercise) group. The eccentric protocol was conducted using a Biodex isokinetic dynamometer (Biodex Multi‐Joint System 3, Shirley, NY, USA). Participants were seated upright and secured to the seat using straps over the shoulders and their lap, with their hips and knees in 90° of flexion. The rotational axis of the dynamometer was aligned with the lateral femoral condyle of the right leg. Immediately following a warm‐up (3 sets of 10 eccentric hamstring contractions, with each set gradually decreasing in velocity [90, 75, and 60°/s, respectively]), participants completed 10 sets of 10 maximal eccentric contractions of the right hamstring muscles through a 90° knee flexion range of motion and an angular velocity of 45°/s. The participants were instructed to resist maximally as the lever arm pushed their leg into knee extension. As the lever arm returned back to the start position (0°–90°), the participants were asked to relax and allow their leg to passively return to the starting position (Johansson et al., 