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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffA hamstring injury may be:
- Mild. A mild injury strains your hamstring muscles and causes pain with minimal loss of muscle strength. You can expect to heal quickly without much downtime.
- Moderate. A moderate injury is a partial tear of one or more of your hamstring muscles. It causes pain and some loss of muscle strength.
- Severe. A severe injury is a complete tear of your hamstring muscles — either of the muscle fibers themselves or of the muscle from the bone (avulsion). You experience severe pain and significant loss of muscle strength. Severe injuries may take months to heal adequately. Complete hamstring avulsions may need surgical repair.
Initial therapy
The initial goal of treatment is to reduce pain and swelling. To accomplish this, your doctor may recommend that you do the following:
- Take a break from strenuous activities to allow the injury to heal.
- Use a cane or crutches to avoiding putting your full weight on your injured leg.
- Apply ice packs several times a day to relieve pain and reduce swelling.
- Wrap 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.
- Take an over-the-counter pain medication such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) to reduce pain and inflammation.
Severe injuries involving torn hamstring muscles may, in rare cases, require surgery. If needed, surgery is performed by an orthopedic surgeon.
Rehabilitation
After the initial pain and swelling of a hamstring injury subside, your doctor may recommend a program of rehabilitation exercises. The goals of rehabilitation are to:
- Improve range of motion of your leg and prevent muscle stiffness
- Restore muscle strength and flexibility
- Return you to your full activity level prior to injury
Your doctor or a physical therapist can set up an exercise schedule and show you how to perform specific exercises designed to rehabilitate your hamstring muscles. You may gradually increase the intensity level of the exercises as you regain strength and mobility. How long you'll continue these exercises depends on how severe your injury is, but standard rehabilitation exercise programs may last for several weeks, at least. A mild to moderate injury may take up to six weeks to heal; severe injuries can take several months to heal.
Rehabilitation exercises may be especially important for protecting your hamstring muscles from re-injury after you get back to your normal activity level.
- Hamstring muscle injuries. American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=a00408. Accessed May 18, 2010.
- Vetter CS, et al. Hamstring strain. In: Frontera WR, et al. Essentials of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/202267569-2/0/1678/62.html?tocnode=55148419&fromURL=62.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-4007-1..50061-4_982. Accessed May 18, 2010.
- Shah A, et al. Hip, pelvis, and thigh. In: DeLee JC, et al. DeLee & Drez's Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Principles and Practice. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/linkTo?type=bookPage&isbn=978-1-4160-3143-7&eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-3143-7..00021-X. Accessed May 18, 2010.
- Heiderscheit BC, et al. Hamstring strain injuries: Recommendations for diagnosis, rehabilitation and injury prevention. The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy. 2010;40:67.
- Sprains and strains. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Sprains_Strains/default.asp. Accessed May 19, 2010.
- Brooks GP, et al. Musculoskeletal injury in the young athlete: Overview of treatment principles for nonoperative injuries. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 18, 2010.
- Brooks GP, et al. Musculoskeletal injury in the young athlete: Overview of rehabilitation for nonoperative injuries. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 18, 2010.
- Hoskins W, et al. The management of hamstring injury - Part 1: Issues in diagnosis. Manual Therapy. 2005;10:96.
- Hoskins W, et al. Hamstring injury management - Part 2: Treatment. Manual Therapy. 2005;10:180.
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