If you have a hamstring strain or tear, you may benefit from the skilled services of a physical therapist to help you recover. Your physical therapist can assess your condition and prescribe treatments and exercises to help decrease your pain and improve your overall mobility.
Your physical therapist may incorporate different methods to promote blood flow, enhance muscle function, and alleviate discomfort while rehabilitating a hamstring strain. However, these techniques must not be relied on solely as a remedy for your hamstring condition.
Rehabilitation of your hamstring tear primarily depends on exercise. However, which exercises are most effective following a hamstring strain and are there any exercises that will aid in returning to normal activities? Additionally, are there exercises that could potentially prevent future hamstring issues? The answer to all of these questions is yes.
Your condition-specific exercises can be determined by your physical therapist. The following exercises are a sample progression that your PT might provide to aid in your rehabilitation following a hamstring strain.
At the beginning of the workout routine, there will be some light stretching and ROM exercises followed by gradually increasing intensity. The goal is for your hamstrings (and other adjacent muscles) to become capable of withstanding the significant loads and stress associated with exercise.
Are you prepared? It’s time to begin.
Hamstring Stretches
Visualize a bulky mass of knotted goo located in the spot where you sustained a hamstring tear. The substance is made up of collagen and is commonly known as scar tissue. It develops naturally during the healing process following a hamstring strain. The most effective approach for rehabilitating this tissue is through gradual, gentle stretching. (In addition, your physical therapist may opt to perform scar tissue massage to assist in breaking down the lump of tissue around your injured area.)
One can begin to stretch their hamstrings following a strain in a variety of ways. It is important to start gradually and progressively increase the level of each stretch within a span of four to six weeks.
Your physical therapist may prescribe various hamstring stretches for you to perform.
- The hurdler stretch
- The towel hamstring stretch
- The amazing standing hamstring stretch
It is recommended to maintain each hamstring stretch for a period of 15 to 30 seconds, and repeat three to five times. As part of your rehab routine, it is important to continue doing hamstring stretches for a few weeks. Additionally, it is advisable to stretch your hamstrings several times a week even after you have completely recovered in order to maintain flexibility.
Hamstring Strain Rehabilitation
Acute Phase Considerations: Did you just injure your hamstring, or is it currently painful?
To rehabilitate injured muscle tissue, it’s crucial to utilize the muscle without causing further harm. Isometric exercise involves contracting a muscle without any movement in its length. This exercise can be performed by flexing muscles such as the biceps or abdominals. Using isometrics can alleviate pain and serve as an effective starting point for exercise after an injury. The bridge position is recommended for an isometric hamstring exercise.
Isometrics for Analgesia: Direct Load Progressions for a Hamstring Strain
Isometric exercises are useful in both strength training and rehabilitation. They are adept at preparing muscles for movement, reducing sensitivity and pain after an injury. Athletes can activate maximum muscle fibers through isometric contractions, which enable the optimization of the nervous system to enhance efficient muscular contraction. This process of activating muscles is typically done before lifting heavyweights. Additionally, isometric strength training imparts strength that is highly specific to the trained range of motion. This specificity can prove beneficial in improving weaknesses. For instance, performing isometric holds, such as pause squats at the bottom or isometric deadlift holds just above or below the sticking point, can effectively overcome plateaus.
Not only do isometrics provide physical advantages such as pain alleviation, improved neuromuscular recruitment effectiveness, and practical training potential, but they are also beneficial in demonstrating exercise advancement and initiating novel movements. To illustrate, in the bridge progression graph shown underneath, it is necessary to accomplish an isometric hold of every demanding position before undertaking repetitions.
Rehabilitation sessions may involve performing dynamic movements in one position, followed by isometric holds in the next most difficult position, as a gradual way of increasing the intensity of the rehab process. The use of isometric exercises enables us to explore our body’s new ranges of motion, making them a valuable tool for both rehab and lifting. They assist in limiting our progress to avoid overexertion while also building strength and familiarity with each new range of motion.
Hamstring Strengthening Exercises
Hamstring strengthening should also be included as part of your rehabilitation program. Your physical therapist will demonstrate the most effective exercises for enhancing your hamstrings. Examples may comprise of:
- Prone knee curls (start with only gravity as your resistance, and then make things more challenging by adding cuff weights)
- Standing hamstring curls
- Ball bridges with knee flexion
- Seated hamstring curls with a resistance band
- Good morning exercises
- The Nordic eccentric hamstring curl
Keep in mind to begin gradually and then advance by adding more repetitions of every exercise or incorporating resistance with ankle weights or resistance bands.
It is important to execute every strengthening exercise at a slow pace and concentrate on the eccentric phase of the contraction, which happens when the hamstring is extending. When performing a hamstring curl, for example, the eccentric part of the contraction is controlling the motion as the knee straightens. According to certain studies, eccentric contractions could potentially serve as a preventative measure against hamstring injuries.
Calf Strengthening Exercises
Keep in mind that your knee joint is crossed in the back by your hamstrings. Interestingly enough, your calf muscles also cross this joint, meaning that while rehabilitating a hamstring injury, neglecting your calves would be unwise. Since the calf and hamstring muscles work in unison to provide support for your knee, executing exercises that strengthen your calf muscles will ultimately aid in supporting the entirety of your lower leg.
Possible rephrased versions of the text are: – You can do different types of exercises to enhance the strength of your calf muscles, such as: – If you want to make your calves stronger, try out some exercises like: – Strengthening your calves can be achieved through exercises such as:
- Calf raises
- Theraband strengthening exercises
- Alfredson protocol for Achilles strength
Perform each distinct exercise for 10-15 reps on multiple occasions in a week. Cease immediately if any calf exercise aggravates the discomfort in your hamstring injury.
Unilateral Exercises
Advanced methods are necessary for athletes to enhance their hamstring strength beyond the basic bridge and isometric progressions. Unilateral exercises are able to impart body stiffness, control over the core, stability, and deliberate extension of muscles that are reciprocated by hip movements. They can be advantageous for all athletes, such as those who practice barbell lifting. Improving strength in one leg is significantly different from lifting with two legs on the ground, and it can make an individual stronger and more able to withstand physical stresses. These exercises are guaranteed to put even the healthiest hamstrings to the test.
Single-Leg Deadlift
Incorporating the single-leg deadlift into your fitness regimen is crucial, as it effectively targets both hamstring mobility and strength. Additionally, these exercises can be advanced in terms of both velocity and resistance, as the hamstrings require rapid contraction and rehabilitation.
Standing Band Pulldown
By utilizing the band pulldown, one can simulate the cyclic movement of walking by imitating the swing of a leg. With enough band resistance, this motion can be performed at a high intensity. Additionally, the exercise provides a comprehensive trial to the core and pelvis by forcing them to maintain stability without being twisted by the band.
Slider Lunges and Fall Outs
When performed using sliders, lunges require a greater engagement of the hamstrings. Similarly, as with the other exercises, the level of difficulty for the hamstrings is increased significantly with a faster pace.
