Are you frustrated with the persistent sore, tight feeling in your hamstrings no matter how much you stretch them? The hamstring muscles are often difficult to recover from fully, and re-injury is very common. Fortunately, our physical therapists at SportsPlus Physical Therapy & Chiropractic are up-to-date on the most advanced methods for treating hamstring injuries and can help you recover once and for all!
Whether you recently hurt your hamstring or are dealing with a nagging problem, determining the best way to resolve a hamstring injury is where our physical therapists excel. We will identify any obstacle standing in your way and make sure you fully resolve your hamstring pain/injuries no matter how long you have dealt with them.
Often the tight feeling associated with a hamstring injury is misinterpreted as a restriction in the muscle’s flexibility. It’s really the body’s way of alerting you to a weakness. Unfortunately, this makes people mistakenly attempt to resolve their condition by stretching. For some, this excessive stretching can keep the injury irritated or prevent it from resolving fully.
At SportsPlus Physical Therapy & Chiropractic, we have a proven track record of effectively treating hamstring pain. We understand what works for the fastest and longest-lasting results!
If you are tired of dealing with hamstring pain and looking for lasting results, request an appointment today!
What are the common risk factors and causes of hamstring injuries?
The hamstring muscle is actually three muscles working in concert with one another (i.e., the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus). These muscles originate on the pelvic bone and run down the back of your leg to the back of your knee.
The hamstring muscle group helps you bend your knee and extend your hip, and during activities like running and sprinting, it slows the leg’s momentum as it extends forward.
The most common risk factors associated with hamstring injuries include:
- Unresolved hamstring injury
- Strength imbalances
- Fatigue and/or overtraining
- Age
Recent research has also implicated a prior ankle injury with an increased risk of a hamstring injury.
For athletes playing sports like soccer, football or track, the hamstring plays a significant role in the swing phase of the running gait. These muscles control the movement of your leg as you put your full weight through the leg with activities like cutting and when the foot makes contact with the ground during running. Overuse-related hamstring injuries are more commonly related to recreational and long-distance runners.
Regardless of how you injured your hamstring, our team at SportsPlus Physical Therapy & Chiropractic can help you resolve it fully and prevent future injuries!
How SportsPlus Physical Therapy & Chiropractic can help keep your hamstrings healthy and injury-free!
Typically the first symptom of a hamstring injury is described as tightness in the back of the leg and progresses to pain felt deep in the buttock or mid-thigh. Too often, people try to stretch their way to relieve or stop activity altogether. Without proper care, this tightness progresses to pain and dysfunction.
A more effective approach is to seek the help of our physical therapist at SportsPlus Physical Therapy & Chiropractic to help identify the true nature of the tightness and help you resolve it before it becomes a significant problem.
Recent research has shown active rehabilitation is the most effective way to resolve a hamstring injury. Improving hamstring strength, addressing residual limitation or restriction from a previous injury, and managing the physical demands/training workloads unique to the individual is the key to a successful outcome.
If you have tried stretching exercises for a few weeks without much success, it is likely that the muscles do not need stretching but need guidance from one of our highly trained physical therapists. At SportsPlus Physical Therapy & Chiropractic, our physical therapists will conduct a thorough physical examination of your hamstring pain, including your current pain, range of motion, and strength.
Our initial physical therapy programs will typically involve manual therapy techniques, targeted stretching, modalities, and other pain-relieving strategies to ensure your body is prepared for a progressive hamstring strengthening program.
Our team will use eccentric muscle contractions to ensure the hamstring recovers and to prevent future injuries. An eccentric muscle contraction occurs when a muscle/tendon is lengthened while contracting. Research has shown that this is essential to a successful outcome, and our therapists can guide you through a program tailored to your specific needs.
By taking an active approach, your therapists can help you resolve your pain and help you stay pain-free in the future!
Request an appointment today!
At SportsPlus Physical Therapy & Chiropractic, we will identify all the factors contributing to your unique situation and provide you with an individualized program addressing your specific needs to ensure we achieve the desired results.
Request an appointment with one of our physical therapists and learn how we can help keep your hamstring strong and healthy!
Sources:
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-017-0819-7
- https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/65953#
- https://bmcmusculoskeletdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12891-020-03658-8
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0966636222000157
- https://www.aafp.org/afp/2018/0415/p510.html
Tags: Pain Relief, PT, physical therapy clinic, hamstring, injury, sports injury, Physical Therapy, Physical Therapist
