The hamstring is a group of muscles that starts at the hip extending downward the back of the thigh to the knee. The hamstring is three muscles
- the biceps femoris
- the semitendinosus
- and the semimembranosus
This ternary muscle works thighs and bend the knees, that is essential for basic physical activity.
The hamstring muscle is over-stretched and fibers are damaged, resulting in micro-tears of the tissue. Symptoms usually are pain, stiffness and weakness when using the hamstring muscle. Minor strains are easily manageable.
Micro-tearing of muscle fibers cause bleeding in the muscle tissue, or a complete tear of the muscle. The muscle bulges upward and bruising is evident on the second or third day.
A complete hamstring tear may require surgery, injections and physiotherapy. This severe injury may take several weeks to self-heal, and require support for walking (crutches, cane).
The conventional RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) technique is started the first 48 hours after injury. Ice the injury 15 to 25 minutes, every two hours, up to three days. Compression with a wrap or brace support helps reduce and prevent swelling. Elevation and rest are important subtleties for muscle-repair and to improve circulation. Immediately when there is no pain start physiotherapy exercises like
- static stretch
- dynamic stretch
- contract-relax stretch
- chair hamstring stretch
- kneeling hamstring stretch
- lying hamstring stretch
- seated hamstring stretch
Physiotherapy exercising is essential to restore strength and maintain muscle flexibility. Stabilizing swelling and inflammation is crucial to starting strengthening and stretching exercises.
