Hamstring Tear

What is a hamstring tear?

Super common. The ol’ hami tear happens thousands of times across sporting fields across the globe. It’s like a pandemic of problematic muscles. The hamstring is a big muscle at the back of and if you get a sharp pain whilst running like the wind (or more like a gentle breeze in my case) – it could be a torn hamstring. We can grade them from 1-3 (1 = not horrible, 3 = not great) but in all honesty, its a flimsy grading system. There’s too much variability between people. Tear / Strain / Pull – they’re all the same thing – just different words to describe muscle damage.

Why does a hamstring tear happen?

Usually a hamstring tear happens with speedy running, or quick changes in speed. Which is most sport (not swimming obviously – if you tear a hami swimming, come and talk to us. Asap). Factors that increase your risk include: previous hamstring tear (a dicky hami is more likely to get extra dicky), tired or fatigued muscle (if you’ve just finished a game of touch footy, maybe avoid an iron man straight after), age – yep, if you’re mid-40s playing soccer (me) its more likely you’ll bust a hami and lastly imbalance: If your thigh muscle is stronger/unbalanced with your hamstring, you are more likely to get injured.

What can you do about a hamstring tear?
Hamstring Physiotherapy in Newcastle.

1. Move. Don’t go overboard/make it super sore – but if you can walk on it (even if it looks a bit John Cleese), its good to get it moving as soon as possible.
2. Unload it. Tape it. Take as much pressure off the tear site as you can, this will encourage movement and movement encourages healing. In very bad tears sometimes you will need to be on crutches for a few days.
3. Strengthen it. As soon as possible start some gentle strengthening. A nice easy start would be a type of exercise called ‘isometrics’ (strength without moving the leg). Start small and don’t push into big pain.
4. Don’t stretch. It’s surprisingly common for well-meaning folks to say ‘STRETCH IT OUT’. Don’t do this. It makes no sense. Think of your muscle like a rope and a tear means you’ve got some strands broken. Pulling on that rope (stretching) will probably make it worse. Not better.

How long will a hamstring tear take?

This is where grading can help. In general: Grade 1 = 3-4 wks, Grade 2 = 6-8 wks and Grade 3 = up to 12wks. See your physio to understand what the likely grade is and what you can expect for your recovery.