Hamstring Injuries : A hamstring is a group of three muscles that runs along the back of the thigh. These three muscles start at the bottom form the pelvis, run along the back of the thigh, cross the knee joint and ends at the lower leg. Hamstrings Injuries play a crucial role in activities that require us to bend our knees – running, climbing or jumping.
So role and activity of hamstrings are higher in sports that involve these activities and incidentally, the majority of the hamstring injuries happen in sports.
What are the types of Hamstring Injuries?
Hamstring injuries, in general, can be classified into strains and contusions. While strains result in hamstring muscle damage, rupture and tear, contusions occur when an external force hits the muscle from outside leading to swelling, pain, stiffness or restricted range of motion.
The hamstring strain injuries are classified based on their severity. Minor pull or strain to the hamstring is classified as grade-1, partial muscle tear as grade-2 and complete muscle tear is classified as a grade-3 hamstring injury, according to Dr Chirag Patel, the top orthopaedic doctor in Mumbai.
What causes Hamstring Injury?
A most common cause of hamstring injury is the extra stretch suffered by the hamstring when it is not exactly expecting one. This can happen during explosive movements while sprinting, jumping or taking a sudden turn in sports like football.
Common causes of hamstring injuries as broadly classified by knee specialists in Mumbai are the following:
Muscle tightness:
Sports alone are not the cause of hamstring injuries. Even regular activities can cause hamstring pull or strain when the muscle is tight. Skipping daily hamstring stretches sets up for this type of hamstring injury.
Muscle imbalance:
In the majority of people, quads overpower the hamstrings as they are far more developed than hamstrings. This muscle imbalance particularly shows up during sports or explosive activities leading to a hamstring injury.
Poor conditioning :
Regular sitting for more than 8 hours atrophies the hamstring muscles and lack of conditioning makes them weak susceptible to hamstring pulls and strains at the first sight of trouble.
Muscle overload:
Even when the body is sufficiently conditioned muscle overload can happen when hamstring muscles stretched beyond their capability in the gym during resistance training.
Ways to prevent Hamstring Injury:
The fastest way to recover from a hamstring injury is to consult an orthopaedic doctor or knee specialist in Mumbai as soon as possible. But the most effective way to avoid hamstring injury is to prevent it altogether. Following is how you do it:
- Always stretch before exercise: Dynamic stretching should be mandatory before participating in any sports, strenuous activity. Always stretch your hamstrings before your workouts to keep them prepared for the adversities ahead.
- More hamstring stretches in exercise regimen: Given we all spend more than 8 hours sitting, everyone is advised to focus on incorporating more hamstring stretched to improve flexibility. Keeping our hamstrings supple with stretches drastically reduces the possibility of a hamstring injury.
- Increase the intensity slowly: Stretch and exercise do improve hamstring mobility but it must be remembered to increase the intensity gradually without abruptly jumping into high intensive activities.
If you are encountering frequent hamstring strains air pull-ups even after adopting the above measures then it is advised to consult an expert orthopaedic doctor to know the inherent cause. If you are in Mumbai and are looking for best orthopaedic doctor in Mumbai, you can contact Dr Chirag Patel here: https://www.drpatelchirag.com/