Hamstring injury is common in many sports. There are few experienced sportsmen and women that haven’t experienced a Hamstring Injury at some point in their career. Hamstring injuries are sometimes known as a ‘pulled Hamstring’ or ‘Hammy’.

The term ‘pulled hamstring’ comes from the description of how the muscle injury takes place. Usually, the Hamstring muscle is forcibly stretched beyond its limits and the muscle tissue becomes torn. A tear in the Hamstring muscle is ususally referred to as a Hamstring strain by most medical professionals and depending on its severity it is classified as a first, second or third degree Hamstring strain:

• a first degree strain is damage to a few muscle fibres,
• a second degree strain is damage to a more extensive number of muscle fibres,
• a third degree strain is a complete rupture of the muscle itself.

Timely and accurate diagnosis of your injury is vital to correct treatment and best possible recovery.

What is a Hamstring?

The Hamstring muscle group comprises of three muscles at the posterior thigh - biceps femoris, semitendonosus and semimembranosus. The action of these muscles is to bend the knee and extend the hip. They are long, large and powerful muscles involved hugely when running.

Hamstring injury signs and symptoms.

With a grade one Hamstring strain the signs may not be present until after the activity is over. There may be a sensation of Hamstring cramp or Hamstring tightness and a slight feeling of pain when the muscles are stretched or contracted.

With a grade two Hamstring strain there is immediate pain which is more severe than the pain of a grade one injury. It is confirmed by pain on stretch and contraction of the muscle. A grade two Hamstring strain is usually sore to touch.

A grade three Hamstring strain can be a very serious injury. There is often an immediate burning or stabbing pain and the athlete is unable to walk without pain. The muscle is completely torn and there may be a large lump of muscle tissue above a depression where the tear is. After a few days with grade two and three injuries severe bruising will appear around and below the injury site caused by the bleeding within the tissues.

Treatment of Hamstring injury.

Treatment of a hamstring injury is dependent on the exact severity of injury and stage of recovery.

Our Physiotherapy team will guide and treat you through the process of recovery. They regularly use a combination of electrotherapy, deep frictional massage, massage, specifc stretching, proprioceptive and strengthening exercise in the right combination to restore full fuction and prevent recurrence.

Give our Bolton, Stockport or Manchester clinics a call today for specific advice to correctly deal with your injury.