The “hamstring muscle” is in fact made up of three individual muscles – Semitendinosus, Semimembranosus and Biceps Femoris. These muscles all originate from the pelvis, specifically a bony prominence called the ischial tuberosity. They all travel across the hip and knee joints – semitendinosus and semimembranosus insert into the medial (inner) aspect of the tibia, while the biceps femoris inserts at the head of the fibula bone on the outside of the lower leg.
A hamstring strain or “pulled hammy” as it is sometimes called is a tear in one or more of the hamstring muscles. Mild (grade 1) to severe (grade 3) hamstring strains are extremely common in sprinters, jumpers and in all sports that involve sprinting activities, such as football and rugby.
Hamstring pain can also occur due to other factors other than tears in the muscles. These often resolve quicker but can feel just like a muscle tear.
Risk factors for hamstring pain include:
- Recent hamstring strain
- Recent lower limb injury (muscle strain, knee, foot and ankle)
- Age – over 23 years old
- Reduced hip and ankle mobility or flexibility
- Fatigue
- Tight buttock muscles
- Poor core stability
- Collagen type – Some people have poor collagen in muscle fibers resulting in repetitive strains and strains in different areas
Research
Despite all the research on hamstring injuries, there is still a lot we don’t know. In AFL, hamstring pain accounts for the most games missed by footballers. It is the injury that tops the list and hence it is not surprising to see the multitude of people getting pain in that region with everyday sport.
It has been difficult to assess how long any player (elite or amateur) will be out for after a hamstring injury. It is usually the first question upon seeing anyone post injury. A paper published in The Journal of Medicine in Sport in 2004, found that MRI scans were the best prognostic tool to assess the length of the time needed to return to full training. Those with a positive MRI (i.e. tear in the hamstring muscle) took 3 times as long to return to full training as opposed to those who had a negative MRI.
Having a MRI post hamstring injury for the average person would be inappropriate due to the high cost of this sort of investigation. However, the results of this study suggest that if you could afford to have an MRI, all the results would allow for better assessment of length of time out of sport. It would give players, coaches, teams and families the necessary information to plan for the weeks ahead.
“The accuracy of MRI in predicting recovery and recurrence of acute grade one hamstring muscle strains within the same season in Australian Rules football players”.
In JSci Med Sport 2004 Jun, 7(2): 248-58, Gibbs NJ, Cross TM, Cameron M, Houang MT
