Recovering from Hamstring Strains
Hamstring strains can be extremely debilitating, affecting both your daily life and athletic performance. While at Seppo Chiropractic we have recently seen many clients and athletes with this injury as they have been training for races and/or participating in athletics throughout the year. Unfortunately, of all the gait-related muscle injuries, hamstring strains tend to have the highest rate of recurrence, which can lead people to months or years of not being able to participate in sports, activities, or everyday hobbies. For a swift and proper recovery, it is imperative to take the correct steps in which our doctors will be able to offer you services of chiropractic care, manual therapy, rehabilitative exercises, and self-treatment strategies. This blog post will help outline the recovery process and highlight the benefits of treatment at Seppo Chiropractic.
Hamstring strains occur when the muscles at the back of your thigh are overloaded, stretched beyond its capabilities or even torn. Causes generally include sudden movements, overuse/over-training, underlying dysfunction movement patterns, muscle imbalances, and inadequate warm-ups.
The hamstrings consist of 4 different muscles and strains generally occur within the outer muscle called the biceps femoris, even though strains can occur within other muscles of the hamstring or different areas within the muscle/tendon. Location can vary based on the sport or activity being performed. The classic presentation is of sudden onset pain in the lower buttock or back of the thigh, and at times a popping noise can be heard. Many patients experience trouble walking, difficulty straightening out your leg, bending forward, or any other movements that elongate the hamstring itself, bruising may also be seen within a few days.
Treatment Options:
Conservative care like chiropractic and physical therapy is essential to expedite your recovery and prevent future injuries. Generally, full recovery is expected to take around 4 months as long as you are taking the proper steps and have a correct rehab protocol in place.
The injured hamstring muscle tends to be weaker and more vulnerable to reinjury after initial injury, with recurrence rates being one of the most common within the first few weeks at approximately 33%. This is why having a trained professional help you understand what your hamstring is capable of handling at the moment, how to progress you and also implement a proper rehab plan are so imperative to your recovery. Ultimately, getting you to return to your favorite activity like running, lifting, jiu-jitsu, soccer, football, etc. without fear of getting hurt again.
The treatment process for a hamstring injury looks like the following:
Assessment and Diagnosis: A proper workup and diagnosis need to be in place. If you don't have the correct diagnosis then you may be receiving the wrong type of treatment. Your clinician at Seppo Chiropractic will be able to properly evaluate your injury's severity, find the root cause, and create a tailored treatment plan for you.
Adjustments: Treatment may include adjustments to restore joint motion, reduce pain, and support functional transferring of forces through the lower extremity.
Soft Tissue Techniques: Includes methods like myofascial release and massage to reduce muscle tension, inflammation, and promote organized collagen fiber orientation of the injured tissues.
Rehabilitative Exercises: While this treatment strategy is of the utmost importance when it comes to hamstring strains, proper progressive loading strategies, and exercises are needed to remodel the tissue and to make your hamstring more resilient than its pre-injured state.
Trunk stabilization and agility drills: While we can treat the site of pain, those who only treat that area are usually lost. Current research shows that incorporating trunk stability exercises and agility drills helps you recover faster and prevent reinjury in the long run when compared to traditional rehab programs.
Nerve Mobilization: In chronic, lingering, recurring injuries, this treatment may be necessary when previously injured tissue becomes adhesive to the sciatic nerve underneath the hamstring muscles.
Besides having an individually tailored treatment and rehabilitation plan, our office outlines what you should be doing at home to recover.
This includes Self-Treatment Techniques like:
Tentative Rest- Movement is your friend, get as much as you can without flaring symptoms.
Natural Analgesic Options- NSAIDs like Ibuprofen andTylenol may help with pain, but will actually slow down or even halt tissue healing.
Proper Nutrition- A few options to note for tissue recovery is adequate protein intake, amino acids, vitamin C and collagen supplementation.
Heat and Cold Therapy- Ice is helpful for pain, but again slows down the tissue healing process.
Compression Bands- We like this for reducing inflammation even more than ice at times.
Stretching and Foam Rolling- Note to be careful with aggressively stretching any sort of strain/sprain as this could make injury worse and slow down recovery.
Strength Exercises/Agility/ Plyometrics- Follow an appropriate plan tailored to your hamstring’s capacity and slowly bridge the gap back to “return to sport”.
Kinesiology Taping- This can be useful to reduce swelling and bruising after the initial injury as well as increasing proprioception (awareness) of the area to the brain.
Swift recovery from a hamstring strain is possible with proper chiropractic care, exercises, and self-treatment strategies. If you or anyone you know is suffering from such an injury, consult with Dr. Christian or Dr. Rob and they will be able to help guide you in this process. Don't let hamstring strains hold you back from doing what you love! Our team is equipped and educated to get you back out there and leave you better than before!
Schedule an appointment today with our experienced clinicians to start your journey to a pain-free, active life. Your recovery begins now!