According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, hamstring muscle injuries are common in athletes, especially in athletes who participate in track, football, soccer and basketball. Your hamstring, which consists of three muscles--including your semitendinosus, semimembranosus and biceps femoris muscles--is situated at the back of your thigh and crosses both your hip and knee joints. Most hamstring injuries can be successfully treated using conservative therapies, such as rest and ice or gentle stretching.
Proper Warm-Up
Hamstring injuries may occur due to inadequate warm-up before vigorous activity. If your hamstring muscles are not warmed properly before an intense bout of physical activity or if your warm-up is insufficient in preparing your nervous system to control your hamstrings in an efficient way, quick, unguarded movements can lead to increased muscle strain and possibly the tearing of your hamstring muscle. In extreme cases, one of your hamstring tendons may tear away from your bone, causing your hamstring muscle to ball up in the back of your thigh. A proper warm-up can help you avoid muscle strains, and it should include sport-specific drills or activities to increase blood circulation to the muscles that you'll be using during your activity. Your warm-up, while recruiting the muscles that you'll be using, should be considerably less intense than the activity you'll be performing.
Gentle Stretching
According to a 1997 study in Physical Therapy, the journal of the American Physical Therapy Association, stretching your hamstring muscles for 30 seconds is an appropriate amount of time to increase your hip flexibility and range of motion. Although stretching your hamstring muscles on a daily basis will help you improve your hip flexibility and range of motion and may help you avoid injuries, it's important not to over-stretch your muscles by being too aggressive or bouncing during your stretch. Any stretch that targets your hamstring muscles should exert a light or gentle stretch in the back of your thigh and should not cause you to experience pain or discomfort. Exercise caution when participating in a stretching program, though. Passive stretching with a partner, known as buddy stretching, may increase your likelihood of muscle damage. And before you engage in a stretching routine, understand how your improved flexibility may impact your sports performance. According to a 2002 study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine, the least flexible runners may be the most economical, in terms of energy expenditure.
Regular Bodywork Sessions
Regular body-work sessions are a constructive way to help you avoid hamstring injuries. A qualified body worker, such as a massage therapist or a chiropractor, can manipulate and mobilize your hamstring muscles to reduce any scar tissue or adhesions present, work out trigger points--hyperirritable nodules within a tight band of muscle--and reduce any post-exercise stiffness or pain, thereby speeding your recovery. Manual therapy methods targeting your hamstring muscles result in increased blood flow and nutrient delivery to your muscles, the clearing of harmful metabolic byproducts from your tissues, heightened tissue elasticity and an up-regulation of your micro-circulation. Such factors can reduce your likelihood of--or improve your recovery from--a hamstring injury. If you're a competitive athlete engaged in a sport that requires significant ballistic or high-intensity movements, consider regular body-work sessions as a way to guard against hamstring injury.
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