Your hamstrings play a critical role in many motions and movements required for high and low-impact sports. Each leg has three hamstrings, all of which are involved in knee movement and, to some degree, hip movement as well. When any one of these muscles stretch beyond its limit during physical activity, injury can result.
Symptoms
If you’ve pulled the hamstring muscle before, have poor flexibility or muscular imbalance – you can be at an increased risk for injury. Symptoms for a hamstring strain include sudden, sharp pain in the back of the thigh. You may also feel a popping or tearing sensation. Swelling and tenderness usually develop within a few hours and you may experience muscle weakness or an inability to put weight on your injured leg.
Because they’re involved in so many activities – including both sports-related and everyday activities – the hamstrings tend to be injured frequently, and without proper care and treatment, it can take a very long time for them to heal – unless you come into Active Health. We work with athletes to not only heal the hamstring but to identify the biomechanics that are putting it under stress in order to prevent injuries from reoccurring in the future.
Start Healing Faster
Immediately following a hamstring strain, it’s vitally important to keep it moving as much as possible, avoid ice, avoid compression and avoid elevation. Taking anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen or naproxen should also be avoided as they delay healing.
The next step – even one you believe the injury is “minor” – is to have it evaluated by one of our providers. Being medically evaluated plays such an important role in so many functions, it’s essential to ensuring you get the most appropriate care and treatment for faster healing and better results.
At Active Health, we’re known as one of the leading providers of care and treatment for hamstring injuries in competitive runners and other athletes throughout the Jacksonville area. We use the latest advances in diagnosis of hamstring injuries, including a biomechanical analysis aimed at identifying even subtle underlying issues that could be contributing to your symptoms or interfering with healing.
If you’ve had a hamstring injury, getting appropriate care right away is essential for expedited healing. Call Active Health at 904-296-0202 and schedule your evaluation today.