Are you suffering from pain in your hamstring muscles? Here are some facts about pulled hamstring

What is a pulled hamstring?

A pulled hamstring is a strain of one or more of the hamstring muscles. Muscle fibers of the hamstring can become strained or torn during running, kicking, or even walking down steps. When a hamstring muscle is pulled, the muscle fibers are abruptly stretched. Depending on the severity of the strain injury, the muscle can actually tear and many people can hear and feel an audible “pop” when the muscle is damaged.

Moreover, the hamstring pull may occur anywhere along the muscle tendon anatomy, however it most commonly occurs in the middle of the hamstring muscle. As people age, the tendon can be injured where it inserts into the ischial tuberosity in the pelvis and cause groin or hip symptoms. On occasion, the tendon injury can pull a small part of bone away from the pelvic bone where the tendon inserts. Avulsion injuries often occur with a quick muscle contraction during a burst of speed. This occurs in activities like ice skating, weightlifting, or skiing.

What causes a pulled hamstring (hamstring injury)?

There are a variety of potential risk factors for hamstring injuries. It includes:

• Inadequate warming up and poor stretching
• Muscle weakness or an imbalance in the muscle strength within the hamstring muscles
• Muscle weakness or an imbalance between the hamstrings and quadriceps
• Poor footwear
• Recurrent injury when the muscle hasn’t completely healed from the previous damage

How can I prevent a pulled hamstring?

As pulled hamstring can be nasty injuries, athletes should work hard to avoid them. After all, healing a hamstring strain is much harder than preventing it.  Here are some tips:

• Warm up before and stretch after physical activity.
• Boost the intensity of your physical activity slowly — no more than a 10% increase a week.
• Stop exercising if you feel pain in the back of your thigh.
• Stretch and strengthen hamstrings as a preventive measure.

If it is only mild hamstring strains, it can be treated at home. But you should see a medical expert if you can’t bear any weight on your injured leg or if you can’t walk more than four steps without significant pain.

Hope you are having a feetnomenal day! 👣☀️

-The Chelsea Clinic and Team

Learn more about achilles tendinopathy here https://www.thechelseaclinic.uk/achilles-tendinopathy/

Check our blog about Hallux Varus https://www.thechelseaclinic.uk/hallux-varus/

Read our blog about Plantar Fibromatosis https://www.thechelseaclinic.uk/plantar-fibromatosis-%f0%9f%91%a3%e2%9a%a0%ef%b8%8f%e2%9d%97%e2%9d%97/