Physiotherapy And Hamstring Strain

Physiotherapy And Hamstring Strain

A hamstring strain is a common lower limb injury that involves more than one of the hamstring muscles: semimembranosus, semitendinosus, and biceps femoris. A hamstring strain results from overstretch or rapid contraction of the hamstring muscles, causing rupture within the fibres of the musculotendinous unit.

A hamstring strain can be categorised into one of the following groups in terms of severity (i.e. from mild to severe that involves complete hamstring muscle tear):

Grade 1: mild muscle strain/ pull
Grade 2: partial muscle tear
Grade 3: complete muscle tear 

Causes of hamstring strain: 

  • Physical exhaustion
  • Low back pain
  • Training schedule, intensity, frequency, duration, surfaces
  • Lack of or insufficient warm up
  • Poor biomechanics

Risk Factors:

  • Sports-related activities, such as jumping, sprinting, or contact sports
  • Recreational sports (i.e. water-skiing)
  • Age < older
  • Previous hamstring and/or calf injuries
  • Poor flexibility in the hamstring muscles
  • Poor core stability
  • Muscle imbalance
  • Lower back pathologies

Symptoms of hamstring strain:

  • Bruising
  • Tenderness in the hamstring muscles
  • Pain with ascending and descending stairs
  • Pain with running, walking and/or taking larger steps
  • Pain with straightening the knee
  • Localised pain at the back of the thigh (from the buttocks to the knee)
  • Severe and sudden pain following exercise with a popping or snapping sensation 

Assessment:

Your physiotherapist will provide a correct diagnosis of your condition based on your clinical examination, symptom behaviour and history. 

Treatment of hamstring strain:

The main focus and goal of the physiotherapy rehabilitation program for this condition is to restore movement, strength and function in order to return to sports at the highest possible level with minimal risk of re-injury. 

Unfortunately, the extremely high hamstring re-injury rate is usually a result of poor rehabilitation, hence appropriate rehabilitation is vital.  

Physiotherapy treatment/rehabilitation aims to achieve the following:

    • To reduce inflammation and pain
    • To regain full range of movement
    • To regain lower limb muscle strength i.e. hip, pelvis, calf muscles
    • To improve lumbo-pelvic stability and control
    • To retrain balance, agility and proprioception
    • To improve functional goals such as hopping, landing, sprinting, running
    • To prevent/ minimise hamstring re-injury

At Edgewater Physiotherapy, our qualified physiotherapists can treat your hamstring strain with manual therapy and a range of exercises to get your strength back and reduce pain. Book a consultation at our Prahran clinic, where we can understand your specific rehabilitation process. Call us today on (03) 9510 8866 or 0431083985.