Not All Hamstring Injuries Are The Same

Hopefully you are fortunate enough to not have experienced the feeling of a sudden pain or tightness in the back of your leg.  Unfortunately, hamstring strains are one of the most common soft-tissue injuries in sport and recreational activities.  It is one of the biggest time loss injuries in professional sport and has a high recurrence rate that shortens some athletes careers.

This is due in part to the anatomy and function of the hamstring muscles in your body.  The hamstrings are a group of three muscles, the outside muscle is biceps femoris, while the two on the inside are semi-tendinosis and semi-membranosis. Together, they function to both flex/bend your knee and extend your hip during walking and running.  They also provide a small stability role for the knee.

The anatomy of the hamstrings

Which hamstring you injure will often relate to the activity you were performing when you injured it.  Strain a hammy slipping on wet floor? Most likely going to be semi-tendinosis.  Tear a hamstring sprinting? More than likely will be biceps femoris.

Each hamstring, and in fact, different aspects of each hamstring (such as the part closest to the hip or knee), are more active with certain types of movements or activities than others.  This makes them more susceptible to injury at different times.  It also means they need to be rehabbed in a unique and different manner, to ensure you are targeting the deficits present.   

If your hamstring injury involves a tear to the tendon component of your hamstring, this will result in an even more unique rehabilitation.  Tendons have a poorer blood supply, and as a result, mean longer out of sport and a higher risk of re-injury, especially if not specifically addressed.

The other contributing factor to hamstring pain, can be what is commonly knows as a neural hamstring injury, but this will be covered in another blog to come. 

I could go on and on about the best ways to rehab the particular hamstring strains that present in athletes.  However, the quickest way to summarise the key components to hamstring rehab is as follows:

1)     You need an accurate diagnosis, so the right rehab can be prescribed. Sometimes this may mean you need an MRI, other times a physio assessment is enough

2)     Rehab should target all areas of the hamstring, and consider all the functions of them, to ensure no deficit areas remain

3)     Running and running loading is the most important part of hamstring rehab.  Its functional, it helps prevent injuries to other areas, and means you’ll return sooner.  It can begin as soon as 3 days after an injury, if planned right.

All of this can be elaborated on in a physio appointment, where the true nature of your hamstring injury can be evaluated. 

If you’re having trouble with an annoying hamstring injury, book in today to help us get it sorted for you. 

Phil