Having trouble walking, squatting, or experiencing pain around our knee area, is an indicator of a hamstring injury.
Where are Our Hamstrings?
Our hamstring muscle group is located on the back side of our thigh and is made up of three muscles. These three muscles originate on the hip bone and attach at the knee joint. When these muscles contract, your knee bends into a flexed position, when they relax, your knee is able to straighten back out. The hamstrings work together with the quadriceps muscles to control and stabilize your knee joint. These two muscle groups must stay balanced power wise to ensure safe and effective mechanics during activities such as walking, running, squatting, or jumping. When one group out powers the other, injuries can result.
The Most Common Form of Hamstring Injury
Muscle strains are one of the most common types of hamstring injuries you can experience. A muscle strain is a stretching and sometimes even tearing of the muscle or tendon.
Symptoms of a muscle strain include:
- Pain
- Swelling
- Muscle spasms
- Tenderness
- Restricted range of motion
Symptoms of a muscle of tendon tear include:
- Pain
- Swelling
- Bruising
- Possibly a divot in the muscle
- Sometimes a mass that has been caused by the muscle rolling up into a ball
How do These Types of Injuries Occur?
Injuries like this are usually caused by:
- Inadequate warm-up
- Lack of stretching
- Muscle imbalance or weakness
- Poor footwear.
Immediate treatment is very important for torn muscles to begin healing and fiber realignment. The length of time for the muscle to heal is dependent on the severity of the strain or tear. As with any injury, the sooner you start treatment, the better the results will be.
