What Do Hamstring Muscles Do?
Hamstrings are one of the most important muscles in your legs. The hamstrings are a group of three muscles that go down the back of your thigh, from your pelvis to just below your knee. They assist with everyday activities such as walking, bending your knee, straightening your leg, and extending your hip. Thus, hamstring strains can disrupt daily activities and sports.
Hamstrings are especially active in dynamic movements like sprinting, running, jumping, changes of direction, etc. these are when injuries are most likely to happen. Therefore hamstring strains are particularly common in sports that require these activities such as contact sports like AFL and rugby, as well as soccer, basketball, netball, or track and field.
Grades of Hamstring Strain Severity
A hamstring strain can be a pull, partial tear, or complete tear, and is graded according to its severity. Grade 1 is the mildest tear and will usually heal with no major issues, compared to a grade 3 strain which is a complete tear. Grade 1 strains which will usually heal in 2-3 weeks, opposed to Grade 3 strains can take months to heal.
Hamstring injuries, tears and strains also are one of the most common injuries in sports with the highest chance of re-injury. It is therefore imperative that you look after your hamstrings and try to avoid injury.
Hamstring Sprain Symptoms
If you have strained a hamstring, you will most likely feel it immediately as it will cause a sharp pain in the back of your leg while you are running. You may experience symptoms such as pain and swelling of the area, increased tightness through the back of the hamstring, or inability to walk.
Two Common Causes of Hamstring Strains
Usually, a hamstring tear occurs during:
Rapid contraction hamstring strain:
This is the most common type of hamstring strain. It occurs in dynamic activities like running, jumping, and sudden changes of direction. It happens when the muscle is overloaded, when the hamstring is stretched beyond its capacity while taking on a heavy load it causes a strain.
During high-acceleration movements, there is a short period of time when your foot contacts the ground and your hamstrings produce an enormous amount of force. In this period your leg is extending and straightening, your glutes and quads are contracting and therefore shortening.
While this is happening your hamstrings are lengthening, but your hamstrings are essentially trying to pull the ground, to contract and shorten in preparation for your foot to strike the ground. This combination of stretching and contraction is happening very quickly, creating a large amount of pull on the hamstrings.
When your foot does touch the ground, your whole body weight is loaded on the muscle and may cause it to tear as it has been stretched too far under too much of a load.
Violent stretching hamstring strain:
This hamstring strain is less common and can be less severe due to the strain on the muscle being lessened. It usually occurs during activities like kicking, most common in AFL and soccer, when attempting a split position, most common with dancers, or when performing a gliding tackle like soccer.
This strain has the same mechanism of injury as the rapid contraction hamstring strain. The muscle is stretched past its limits and often accompanied is a violent dynamic motion that pushes the hamstring into this harmful position.
Top 7 Ways to Prevent Hamstring Strains
While it is not possible to completely prevent an injury from occurring, there are many factors that can increase or reduce the risk.
1. Strengthening and stretching routines
Keeping the muscle strengthened and flexible all year round is essential to hamstring strain prevention. Maintaining a regular exercise and stretching routine will keep the hamstring fit and flexible so the muscle is used to all the conditions that could cause an injury.
Tight muscles are more easily strained, therefore making sure to keep up your stretching is essential. Stretching the hamstrings as well as other areas of the body that connect to the hamstrings, like the glutes, hips and calf muscles can help protect the hamstring muscles.
The most common hamstring injury happens when the hamstring is fully extended (stretched) under load and thus contracting, most often this occurs during high-acceleration exercise, so it is important to train under these conditions. There are an abundance of exercises that strengthen the hamstring under stretched conditions like nordic curls, arabesques, stiff leg deadlifts, etc. These can be a small but powerful addition to bulletproofing the hamstrings.
2. Sport-specific program
General stretching and strengthening programs may be helpful, but they may not target the exact muscle groups relevant to your sport that could increase your risk of injury, or the conditions specific to your sport wherein you’re most likely to risk hamstring strain. Your routine should include sport-specific muscle stretching as well as sport specific skill drills. Here at City Physio, one of experienced physiotherapists can work with you to develop a program that includes stretches, exercises and drills specific to your sport and individual body mechanics.
3. Cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance
Maintaining high levels of fitness and muscular endurance is another important strategy to prevent hamstring strains. It will help prevent fatigue during intense bouts of exercise, this will reduce the risk of a hamstring strain that happens when the muscles have an increased strain due to them not working as well.
4. Proper warm-up before exercise
Warming up the muscle properly before exercise is very important. It will ensure the hamstring is ready for exercise, by increasing elasticity it will decrease the risk that stretching under load will have on injury. The hamstrings will also work better and there will be less fatigue which can increase risk of injury.
City Physio can help develop a warm-up that is specifically tailored to you, but warm-ups should include dynamic stretches that stretch the muscles under movement, rather than static stretching and cardio to ensure proper blood flow to the muscles.
5. Target muscles imbalances
Imbalances in leg muscles can also increase risk of injury. If your hamstring is the weak link compared to your quadriceps; your quadriceps muscles have more mass and can produce more power than your hamstrings, then you can easily wear out your hamstring before your other muscles. When the hamstring tires before the other muscles it puts it at greater risk of a strain.
6. Enough recovery between workout
Allowing for enough recovery time in between each workout is important when it comes to limiting the effect fatigue can have on hamstring injury. It also ensures any of the small muscle tears that occur each time a muscle is used have healed and don’t contribute to a larger strain. Recovery can include foam rolling, static stretching, massages, and many other things that City Physio can either assist you with or provide.
7. Returning to exercise too fast after injury
Returning to sport too quickly after injury is a major risk factor when it comes to straining the hamstring. A hamstring that has had a previous injury will be significantly more likely to tear. It is important to let the hamstring rest and heal completely before returning to exercise.
City Physiotherapy can help develop to your needs and specific body mechanics a routine of stretches and exercises that bulletproofs your hamstrings from injury, or helps keep that pesky tear from returning.
At City Physiotherapy, we are here to help you. If you have recently had a hamstring injury, or if you are at risk of getting one, book in to see one of our physios who can help you through your journey to wellness, or consult with you on how to best prevent an injury.
