Recurrent Hamsting injuries?

Footballers and sprinters- you must be wondering what your doing wrong? What is causing you to have recurrent problems with your hamstring?

Now as with any injury, you should always consult your GP and or physiotherapist before commencing any new exercise…

So a big mistake when rehabilitating the hamstring is the lack of eccentric work… people tend to stretch and concentrically strengthen muscles which does not protect the hamstring when it is under the most strain. Eccentric contraction involves contracting a muscle in a lengthened position- in the case of the hamstring this would be from knee flexion through to knee extension. This differs to concentric muscle activity where muscles are both contracted and shortened at the same time, this would be the equivalent of performing a hamstring curl

Nordic hamstring exercises are found to be quite useful in strengthening the hamstring muscle

Look out on MCR for a detailed hamstring rehabilitation programme in the coming weeks

What can i do for a hamstring “pull”

Pulling one’s hamstring is one of the most common soccer injuries and the most common cause is the lack of proper stretching before playing. When one says that they pull their hamstring, what it means is that one has strained or slightly torn their hamstring. Most soccer players think that by just resting for about 2-4 weeks without playing is all that is required to recover. However, this is not true. If you do nothing about the strain, you are at a higher risk of sustaining the same injury.
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Stretch A
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Stretch A may aggravate your pain if you have a history of lower back nerve injury. When you bend from your hip with your knee straight the tension is at the back of your thigh, behind the knee. This focuses on the lower hamstrings and also pulls onto the sciatic nerve which originates from the lower back.

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Hamstring Exercises for Long Distance Runners

It’s common for runners to feel severe cramps in their hamstring or even tearing their hamstring while running. These tend to occur when the hamstring is either tight or weak. “But how come it can happen to me when I’ve been doing my hamstring curls in the gym?” one may think. The answer to this question comes from how you strengthen your hamstrings.

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