The hamstring strain is a common injury in athletes. The hamstrings are a large muscle group in the posterior thigh. Its actions include flexing or bending the knee and extending the hip.
A strain of these muscles can lead to inability to walk or run and play sports. See my muscle strain blog here.
The Hamstrings Muscles:
- Biceps femoris
- Semitendinosus
- Semimembranosus
The hamstring strain is a common injury in athletes. I have seen this mostly with those in running sports. But it can also occur with jumping sports. For more information on them check out this article here.
Signs of hamstring strain
Some of the symptoms of a hamstring strain are: pain with contraction or using the muscle, pain with stretching the muscles, tenderness to touch, swelling, and possibly bruising.
In severe cases, one of the hamstring muscles can tear completely. This will usually require surgery to fix, however I have seen patients that did not have surgery.
In the instance where the person did not have surgery, PT did help him return to full function.
Exercises for Hamstring Strain
Stretches: hamstring stretch standing and supine
Hamstring curls
RDL
Prone hip extension
Bridges
With the stretches, I recommend a 30 second hold for 3 repetitions. For the strengthening, I recommend 2-3 sets of 8-10 repetitions depending on your fitness level.
After the pain has subsided, higher level hamstring exercises should be performed to improve the strength and decrease the likelihood of the injury reoccurring.
Harder Hamstring Exercises
Nordic curls
Slider Hamstring Curls
Good mornings
Kettlebell swings
How to prevent a Hamstring strain
The hamstrings strain is a common injury in athletes, so doing these things can help stop a hamstring injury before it starts.
- Proper warm up
- Build up exercises
- Do not over train
- Be sure to stretch the muscles