Unfortunately, hamstring strains are both common and painful. They strike athletes of all sorts -including runners, skaters, rugby, soccer, and basketball players.
There are 3 stages of muscle injury (as shown in the 2nd picture) and which category you fall into can be determined by your display of symptoms and investigations done by your Doctor.
What symptoms you may experience?
- Sudden and severe pain during exercise, along with a snapping or popping feeling
- Pain in the back of the thigh and lower buttock when walking, straightening the leg, or bending over
- Tenderness
- Bruising
Should you seek Physiotherapy for an injured muscle? Absolutely! Here's why:
1) We will teach you safe exercises and stretches to help you gain a speedy recovery
2) incorporation of pain relief modalitites to aide in the natural healing process of your injured muscles
3) Prevent secondary complications such as muscle wasting and reduced range of motion from the injury.
As hamstring strains can be nasty injuries, athletes should work hard to avoid them. After all, healing a hamstring strain (which usually takes 6-8 weeks) is much harder than preventing it.
Here are some tips:
1. Warm up before and stretch after physical activity.
2. Boost the intensity of your physical activity slowly - no more than a 10% increase a week.
3. Stretch and strengthen hamstrings as a preventive measure.
reference:
1)https://www.physio-pedia.com/Hamstring_Strain
2)https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/hamstring-strain#2