Hamstring Strains
July 19, 2022
Articles
Hamstring Strains
July 19, 2022 Articles Hamstring Strains July 19, 2022 Articles Hamstring Strains July 19, 2022 Articles Hamstring Strains If you’ve been involved in sports for any significant amount of time, you or someone you know has probably experienced a pulled hammy. Hamstring strains are one of the most common injuries in sports that involve high-speed […]
What are the Hamstrings? (Quick recap from Stretching your Hamstrings article here)
The hamstrings are made up of 3 distinct muscles: the biceps femoris (long head), semimembranosus, and semitendinosus. All three muscles of the back of your thigh originate on the ischial tuberosity (butt bone) and insert on either side of your knee on your tibia and fibula.
Grades of Strains
Around 80% of strains are in the long head of the biceps femoris.1 There are 3 grades that we typically use to describe strains:
Grade I: Mild – Micro-tearing of a few muscle fibers
Grade II: Moderate – Moderate tearing of muscle fibers
Grade III: Severe – Compete tear of the muscle
It is not uncommon to have a bruise on the back of your leg after a pulled hamstring and typically, the worse the bruise is, the more muscle damage.
In general, return to play/sport times range from around 5 days, up to a whole month+ in some cases. There is evidence that the intramuscular tendon of the biceps femoris, not the muscle belly (which is most common), could be the site of injury. These instances could require a prolonged rehab time and may have higher recurrence rates.
The criteria for returning to sport is based mostly on tests performed by a Physical Therapist. Seeking a great physical therapist asap can not only employ modalities to help you heal faster (blood flow restriction, dry needling, etc.), but also help you train around your injury safely and lower your risk of re-injury. The #1 highest risk factor for straining your hamstring is a prior hamstring strain. A good PT will help you during the recovery process. A great PT will help you through the recovery process and give you the tools to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Thanks for reading,
Brandon Lawlor, PT, DPT
1. Martin RL, Cibulka MT, Bolgla LA, Koc TA Jr, Loudon JK, Manske RC, Weiss L, Christoforetti JJ, Heiderscheit BC. Hamstring Strain Injury in Athletes. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2022 Mar;52(3):CPG1-CPG44. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2022.0301. Epub 2022 Feb 14. PMID: 35164536.
2. Hamstring Muscle Injuries – OrthoInfo – AAOS. (2022). Retrieved 18 July 2022, from https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/hamstring-muscle-injuries
3. Pulled hamstring – Wikipedia. (2022). Retrieved 18 July 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulled_hamstring
