Hamstring tears, or strains (a strain is simply a small tear), are the most common injury sustained in the world of AFL football. In reality, they are equally prevalant in other high speed running sports - 85% of all hamstring injuries occur during high speed running. In severe cases some footballers have “torn their hamstring off the bone” (think Matthew Lloyd, Nick Reiwoldt, Josh Gibson, Daniel Kerr etc.).
Fortunately, hamstring origin avulsion (where one of the hamstring tendons is torn from the bone up in the buttock and must be surgically repaired) is not very common. Studies have placed it at less than 4% of all hamstring injuries. The far more common scenario is to tear one of the hamstring muscles (there are actually 3 separate muscles that comprise the hamstring group) in the belly/middle of the muscle. In these cases, a player will often only miss 3-4 weeks (as opposed to the 4 months Lloyd, Reiwoldt, Gibson & Kerr all missed).
Why do Hamstrings tear?
From the extensive research done in this area, we now know that most hamstring muscle tears are preventable - it is not just a consequence of old age, or because you have done one before (as we used to believe). There are a range of predisposing factors for hamstring injury:
- Inadequate warm up
- Excessive muscle tightness
- Muscle fatigue/overuse/inadequate recovery
- Muscle imbalances - typically poor strength of your gluteals and/or your hamstring muscles themselves
- Previous injury - unresovled scar tissue from a previous hamstring tear
- Faulty technique/biomechanics
- Spinal dysfunction (including poor core stability)
What to do for a Hamstring tear?
Once a tear has occurred, the acute management of it is critical if you are going to minimise your time on the sidelines. Applying the C.R.I.E. principals (Compression, Rest, Ice, Elevation), and getting in to see a physiotherapist to begin the rehabilitation process as quickly as possible will often save you missing a game or two. More importantly, your physio should be able to identify which of the predisposing factors were actually at play in your case, then help you put some strategies in place to correct them to significantly reduce your risk of further injury. One of the late stage strengthening approaches in the use of Nordic Curls (see below) - as research has now clearly shown that having greater eccentric hamstring strength (irrespective of your age) can signicantly reduce your risk of future Hamstring injury:
So if you have sustained a hamstring tear that needs to be rehabiliated, or would like a Nordic Curl strengthening regime designed for you to reduce your risk of future hamstring injury, then why not book a consultation with one of our expert physiotherapists? You can call our friendly reception team on 9889 3903, or book online here.
Author
Adrian Quinn (B.Physio) - Practice Director @ Back In Motion Camberwell