Hamstring injuries, such as pulls, tears and strains, are common among athletes who play sports that require powerful accelerations, decelerations or lots of running. The hamstring muscles run down the back of the leg from the pelvis to the bones of the lower leg. The three specific muscles that make up the hamstrings are the biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus. Together these powerful flexors are known as the hamstring muscle group. An injury to any of these muscles can range from minor strains, a pulled muscle or even a total rupture of the muscle.
A hamstring injury typically causes a sudden, sharp pain in the back of the leg that may stop you mid-stride. After such an injury, the knee may not extend more than 30 to 40 degrees without intense pain. Like most muscular strains, the injury has been caused by muscles that have become tighter (hypertonic) over a period of time and have been pushed beyond their limits.
How can Muscle Freedom help?
Minor muscle strains can be treated by manually lengthening the muscles of the hamstring using techniques such as deep tissue massage, trigger point therapy and dry needling. Your therapist will give you a treatment plan to best treat the injury as well as stretches to keep the hamstring long and injury free.
