Hamstring Strain: Learn Symptoms, Treatment and Recovery

1. Hamstring Strain: Learn Symptoms, Treatment and Recovery Hamstring strain is a common leg injury that strike athletes of all sorts including runners, footballers, soccer players, basketball players, and those who participate in sports. But what is a hamstring? Hamstring is a group of four muscles at the back of your thigh. During a hamstring strain, one or more of these muscles gets overstretched or may even tear. A hamstring strain can range from mild to very severe one, and is graded according to their severity. It is a painful sports injury and occurs due to sudden stopping or starting, jumping or rapid acceleration activities. Three Grades of Hamstring Strains Grade 1: It is a mild form of muscle strain that takes few days to recover Grade 2: It is a partial muscle tear and is usually painful than Grade 1 Grade 3: It is a complete tear of one or more hamstring muscle tears and may take weeks or months to heal Symptoms of Hamstring Strain A hamstring injury causes a sharp pain in the back of your thigh. You will see swelling and tenderness in the affected area within a few hours. You may also experience discoloration along the back of your leg. Due to muscle weakness you will not be able to put weight on your injured leg. Primary and Secondary Causes of Hamstring Strain You are more likely to injure your hamstring muscles if you don't warm up yourself properly before exercising, or the front thigh muscles are tight. When you have weak glutes, you can overload your hamstring muscle, causing strain in the muscles. There are primary and secondary reasons for hamstring strain. 1.Primary cause is lack of eccentric strength in the hamstring muscles during the ground contact while running or doing any physical activity. When your muscles lack stiffness, they are not able to absorb shock and rebound after your leg comes in contact with ground. 2.Some of the secondary reasons include poor running mechanics, fatigue, lack of back pathology, rough surfaces, and inappropriate training loads. Treatment for Hamstring Muscle Injury On proper examination, your sports injury therapist will look for signs of pain, lack of flexibility, tenderness or gap within the hamstring muscle group. Your physiotherapist of sports injury clinic will provide you appropriate treatment to reduce pain, strengthen muscles, normalize your neurodynamics and muscle range of motion. From sports massage to physical exercises, your sports injury therapist will use the best treatment option to restore your abilities faster, and also to prevent further problems in the future. For accurate diagnosis and better guidance on how to recover quickly from hamstring muscle injury, visit your sports injury clinic today!