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As this lockdown eases and Saturday-league football is starting back up again, I thought I would talk about one of the most common injuries found in the sport, which has no regards to age or playing level. For those who follow me on social media (@AnytimeTherapy), you may have heard some of the points I am going to go through, but hopefully there is something new that you pick up today.
One misconception concerning the Hamstring is that it only creates movement in one joint (the Knee), whilst actually it creates motion in both the Knee and the Hip, as it crosses both joints. This means that when the Knee is extended and the Hip is Flexed (think of a Hurdler jumping over a hurdle, or a footballer who has kicked the ball hard with power) the Hamstring, more specifically the Bicep Femoris, is lengthened to it’s extreme. It’s at this point when many athlete’s start to feel tension as the muscle is put to the test, and if the muscle isn’t flexible enough, or the movement isn’t controlled enough, the muscle will fail the test, and damage will occur.
If you have access to one privately, or you are referred to one, an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is the best choice to determine the severity and specific location of the injury. An MRI Scan works by sending bursts of radio waves into a particular part of the body, this radio wave knocks the protons out of place within the muscle, and as they realign, they send a signal which is picked up by the MRI machine. The rate at which the protons realign means the machine can create an image, showing if there is a damaged area or not. It is also important to understand that the protons of different structures (i.e. muscle, bone, tendon, ligaments) realign at different rates, so it is easy for the machine to determine what it is ‘looking’ at.
Short-term treatment techniques commonly used which yield good results are Eccentric exercise, which load the muscle whilst it is lengthening (allowing the muscle to get used to tension under stress), and soft-tissue mobilisations, such as massage.
Due to the nature of football, how the athlete’s must continually sprit-stop-sprint-stop, and how they have to quickly change direction after standing still and in motion, it isn’t surprising to see the volume of Hamstring injuries each year. However, it does give us a chance to learn.
· Strengthen your Glutes; if your Glutes are weak (or weak compared to the rest of your body) your Hamstrings will have to work harder to compensate the load and work-rate.
· If your sport requires speed, implement that into your workout routine or training schedule.
· Eccentric Hamstring exercises; as stated before.
· Try not to change the surface that you train and compete on; if you are an athlete who plays on grass, attempt to train on grass as well. The biomechanics involved in running/ sprinting/ changing directions can be altered by the terrain you are on.
· Take care of your Hamstrings; make sure that you are warming up and cooling down before and after exercise, and when you have time to do so, stretch them properly!
Have a great day guys!
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