Pain in the back of your feet is definitely a sign of hamstring injury. Your hamstrings are a group of muscles which are located behind your thighs. The tension in these muscles is relatively common, especially for people who play sports that include football, basketball, running and swimming.  Today we are going to talk about hamstring injury and how it is painful to your body.

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What is Hamstring Injury?

A hamstring injury happens when you strain or pull one of your hamstring muscle which is the group of three muscles which run along the back of your thigh. You are likely to get a hamstring injury if you play basketball, football, tennis or a similar sport which involves sprinting with sudden stops and starts. A hamstring injury can happen to runners and to dancers as well.

Self-care like – rest, ice fomentation and over-the-counter pain medications are often all you need to relieve the pain and swelling associated with a hamstring injury.

What are the Symptoms of Hamstring?

There are some symptoms of hamstring:

• Sudden and awful pain during exercise, along with a snapping or popping feeling

• Pain in the thigh and lower buttock when walking, straightening the leg, or bending

• Tenderness

• Bruising

What are the Causes of Hamstring?

The hamstring muscles are a group of three muscles which run along the back of your thigh from your hip to just below your knee. It makes it possible to expand your leg straight and to bend your knee. When any one of these muscles stretches over its limit during exercise, injury can happen.

What are the Risk Factors of Hamstring?

There are a few risk factors associated with Hamstrings:

• Sports Participation

Sports require running, or other activities like- dancing which might require extreme stretching, make a hamstring injury more likely.

• Prior Hamstring Injury:

If you had one hamstring injury, you’re more likely to have another one, especially if you try to resume all your activities at pre-injury levels of intensity before your muscles have time to heal and rebuild strength.

• Bad Flexibility:

If you are not flexible, your muscles may not be able to bear the full force of the action required during certain activities.

• Muscle Imbalance:

Although not all experts agree, some suggest that a muscle imbalance may lead to a hamstring injury. When the muscles along the front of your thigh, the quadriceps, become stronger and more developed than your hamstring muscles, you may be more likely to injure your hamstring muscles.

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What is the Complication of Hamstring?

Come back to difficult activities before your hamstring muscles are completely healed might cause an injury recurrence.

What are the Preventions of Hamstring?

There are some preventions of hamstring:

Overall physical conditioning program like- regular stretching and strengthening exercises can help to minimize the risk of hamstring injury. Try to be in shape to play your sport; don’t play your sport to get in shape.

If you have a physical occupation, regular conditioning can help to prevent injuries. Consult a doctor about suitable conditioning exercises.

How to Treat Hamstring?

There are some treatments for hamstring:

• Take a break from difficult activities to allow the injury to heal.

• Use a cane or crutches to avoiding putting your full weight on your injured leg.

• Foment ice packs several times a day to relieve pain and reduce swelling.

• Cover the injured area with a compression bandage or wear compression shorts to minimize swelling.

• Rest with your leg elevated above the level of your heart, if possible, to improve drainage and minimize swelling.

Physical Therapy

The beginning of the pain and swelling of a hamstring injury moderate your doctor or a physical therapist to show you how to perform specific exercises designed to improve flexibility and strengthen your hamstring muscles.

Surgery

In case your muscle has pulled free from where it’s connected to your pelvis or shinbone, orthopedic surgeons can reattach it. Severe muscle tears also can be repaired.

Conclusion

Here,  we have talked about hamstring injury, symptoms, causes, complications, preventions, and treatment. The best way to cure this injury is to take proper rest after the surgery and to take proper precautions, which your doctor may suggest. If you ever feel any of the above pain and symptoms, consult a doctor as soon as possible.

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