5 Tips for Preventing Hamstring Injuries

While every muscle in your body holds some significance, the muscles situated at the rear end of your thigh, commonly known as hamstrings, are crucial for ensuring your mobility. Healthy hamstrings are essential if you lead an active lifestyle, making it imperative to focus on avoiding injuries.

Our skilled musculoskeletal professionals at Genesis Regenerative Sports and Aesthetic Medicine strive to enable our patients to live without being hampered by injuries. To achieve this goal, we advocate for preventative measures and have compiled a list of five valuable tips to protect your hamstrings.

Hamstring anatomy 101

There are three muscles that make up your hamstring muscles, which can be found at the back of your thighs.

Semitendinosus
Semimembranosus
Biceps femoris

Your pelvic area hosts these muscles that stretch down through your knees and ultimately terminate in your lower legs.

Your ability to extend your legs and bend your knees is dependent on the power of your hamstrings when it comes to movement.

Hamstring injuries

There are three different categories of hamstring injuries.

A pull
A partial tear
A complete tear

Typically, these injuries happen as a result of overexerting or straining the muscles beyond their limits.

Diagnosis

The health care provider examines the patient’s back thigh for any signs of inflammation or sensitivity. Assessing the location and intensity of the pain can provide valuable insight into the extent of the injury.

A healthcare provider can identify the specific muscle that is injured and determine if ligaments or tendons are affected by manipulating the position of the injured leg.

Imaging tests

Severe hamstring injuries may result in muscle tears or detachment from either the pelvis or shinbone. This detachment can cause a small chunk of bone to come off the primary bone, which is referred to as an avulsion fracture. While X-rays detect avulsion fractures, tears in the muscles and tendons can be observed using ultrasound and MRIs.

Five tips for preventing hamstring injuries

Here are five useful tips to ensure the safety of your hamstrings and keep them in good condition.

1. Stretch it out

Hamstring injuries are often caused by tightness, which is why it’s advisable to follow a thorough stretching routine, particularly before and after physical activity. A possible stretching exercise is sitting on the floor with your legs extended in front and attempting to touch your toes. This exercise can also be done standing up simply by bending down and holding onto your toes.

2. Strengthen

To avoid injuries, building up your muscles is beneficial, but it can be tough to do so for your hamstrings. Your quadriceps, residing on the front of your thighs, are your leg’s primary muscle group, and they usually activate during leg usage. To specifically target and enhance your hamstrings, we propose workouts such as glute bridges and hip thrusts. This exhaustive hamstring regimen incorporates these exercises.

3. Rest well

Muscle fatigue is also a frequent cause of hamstring injuries. After a day of vigorous soccer playing, it’s best to rest your hamstrings before returning to the field. It’s worth noting that this advice holds true for all muscle groups.

4. Know the signs

When your hamstring muscles begin to experience pain, it is important to pay attention and avoid overusing them. Your body has a natural way of indicating when you have surpassed your limits, so it is crucial to listen and respond accordingly.

5. Caution for younger patients

During an adolescent’s growth spurt, their bones usually grow before their muscles which is particularly evident in their hamstrings. Therefore, it is important to regularly check for any issues and communicate with your child about it.

Treatment

Reducing pain and swelling is the primary objective of treatment. The healthcare professional may recommend the following measures:

Take a break from strenuous activities to allow the injury to heal.
Apply ice packs several times a day to relieve pain and reduce swelling.
Wrap the injured area with a compression bandage or wear compression shorts to minimize swelling.
Rest with the leg elevated above the level of the heart, if possible, to lessen swelling.
Take pain medicine you can get without a prescription. Examples include ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and acetaminophen (Tylenol, others).

Physical therapy

A physical therapist or health care professional can demonstrate to you how to perform easy exercises that stretch and strengthen your hamstrings. Once the swelling and pain subside, your provider can walk you through more intensive exercises that increase muscle strength.

Surgery

With physical therapy and time, most instances of partial tearing of the muscles in hamstring injuries can heal. Orthopedic surgeons can reattach the muscle if it has become disconnected from the pelvis or shinbone. It is also possible to repair severe muscle tears.

Lifestyle and home remedies

Attempt to self-treat a mild hamstring injury via the R.I.C.E. method.

Rest. Take a break to rest your hamstring muscles and allow the damaged tissues to repair. Avoid any activity that causes pain, swelling or discomfort. If you have more than a minor muscle strain, your health care provider may recommend that you use crutches to keep your weight off the injured leg.
Ice. Ice the area as soon after the injury as you can. For the first few days after the injury, keep an ice pack on the injured area for 15 to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours while you’re awake. Cold reduces pain and swelling. It may also slow bleeding if there’s a tear. If you have vascular disease, diabetes or can’t feel much in your leg, talk with your care provider before icing.
Compression. Wrap your leg with an elastic bandage until the swelling goes down. Be careful not to wrap too tightly. Begin wrapping at the end farthest from your heart. Loosen the bandage if the pain increases, the area becomes numb or swelling occurs below the wrapped area.
Elevation. Sit or lie back with your leg raised while resting. If possible, raise your leg higher than your heart.

Over-the-counter pain relief medications like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, etc.) and acetaminophen (Tylenol, etc.) can be effective. Gradually start using the injured leg after a few days, and with time, you should notice improvements in your leg’s ability to bear your body weight and your freedom of movement without pain.

Preparing for your appointment

Initially, it is advisable to consult your personal healthcare professional who may then recommend a sports medicine practitioner or an orthopedic surgeon.