Hamstring injuries occur readily in a number of sports, but often these sports involve sprinting and kicking. Acute, moderate or severe strains are common in sprinters, hurdlers and other field sports like hockey, rugby and soccer. They are the most common injury affecting Australian football players, and many other national football teams exhibit similar statistics. Hamstring injuries have a high recurrence rate and these injuries often occur despite good stretching and strengthening regimes.

Predisposing Factors:

  • Strength: decreased hamstring strength has been shown to be a significant predictor of hamstring muscle strain.
  • Previous Injury: as hamstring injuries have such a high incidence of reoccurrence, this is a large factor. Previous injury may also lead to reduced muscle strength
  • Age: Research has shown that increasing age is a factor in hamstring muscle strain. This may be linked to decreased muscle strength and reduction in muscle fibre size.
  • Inadequate rehabilitation: without adequate rehab post injury, deficits in strength and flexibility may occur.
  • Flexibility: studies have shown that athletes that stretch regularly experience less muscle strain that those athletes who do not stretch regularly.
  • Warm up: studies have shown that a good ‘warm up’ reduces the likelihood of injury
  • Fitness Levels: studies show there is a link between a lack of pre-season training and hamstring injury.
  • Fatigue: fatigued muscles are not able to function as optimally as possible. Studies have shown that hamstring muscle injuries are more common in the last half/ quarter of field rugby and soccer games.

Signs and Symptoms of Hamstring Muscle Tear

  • Sudden onset
  • Difficulty walking and running
  • Moderate to severe pain
  • Reduced strength and flexibility
  • Bruising
  • Tenderness

Treatment

The successful treatment of hamstring muscle strains is complicated by the high reoccurrence rate. Early management would involve rest, icing, compression and elevation. Thereafter, one should enrol in a rehabilitation process involving podiatrists, physiotherapists and other physicians. The prevention of further hamstring strain then becomes a focus of treatment. Stretching and strengthening programs have been used in the prevention of hamstring muscle strains.