How Long Does It Take To Recover From A Hamstring Injury?

Picture the scene. 1 minute you are running, minding your ain business, perhaps listening to music. Yous suddenly feel a stabbing awareness in the back of your thigh, at that place may even have been a popping dissonance. Now you are hobbling to a standstill, possibly unable to walk.

If this scenario has happened to you, then it is more than than probable that you lot have torn 1 of the muscles in the back of your thigh, your 'hamstring'. Successfully recovering from a hamstring strain will take a lot of time and care. Rush back to your chosen sporting activity besides presently and you risk a echo injury. That 2nd injury could be more serious and have even longer to recover from.

Hamstring injuries take time to recover fully!

Considering of the impairment, the other muscles are at present working harder and they too need to be protected from overuse and damage. The express range of movement, induced past your body'southward recovery organisation, needs to be slowly increased. The damaged muscle needs to be given fourth dimension to repair, fourth dimension to regain a full range of movement then time to gain strength once more. There is a mutual theme here – fourth dimension! Many people brand the mistake of getting past the initial recovery period, and and so going back to the same activities that caused the original damage. It does not end well.

Just because the hurting has gone, doesn't hateful your hamstring has fully recovered!

As soon equally the tear occurred, your body went into protection mode, inducing swelling, inflicting pain and encouraging y'all not to use the damaged muscle. Your body wants you to stop and residue. Depending on the severity of the tear, the initial recovery to pain complimentary walking, may only take a few days. This diminishing of pain is simply a sign of an initial recovery, plenty to reduce swelling and perhaps associated bruising. The hurting may take reduced and mobility may be returning, simply:

Your damaged muscle is nevertheless damaged
Your range of move is virtually certainly still restricted
Your hamstring muscles will be nowhere near the level of force it had prior to the injury
Other muscles have had to do extra work to back up and protect, so may exist injury prone

The initial recovery, typically in the first few days or weeks, is a huge danger zone. You feel and then much better and desperately want to get dorsum to doing whatsoever you were doing before the injury. Unfortunately, the gamble of a recurrence of a hamstring injury is very high, and second time around, the injury tin can be worse.

How likely is a recurring hamstring injury?

The NHS don't quantify the exact chances of a recurring injury, simply stating "Recurring injury is common" and "you're more likely to injure your hamstring if you've injured it before." An article in the International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy, suggests a recurrence charge per unit of nearly a third. Other bookish studies report even higher percentages.
Closer to domicile, Michael Owen, the Liverpool and England football game player, blames the early on end to his career coming, in part, on recurring hamstring related injuries.

A recurrence of a hamstring strain can crusade a bigger problem, with extended recovery times and the risk of permanent harm. You should be aiming for a stronger muscle grouping and an increased range of movement, before yous think near retrying whatsoever it was you did in the outset place! It is non uncommon for a severe hamstring injury to take a year to eighteen months to recover. In our experience, the more common smaller hamstring strain takes around 3 to 5 months to recover.

The long road to recovery

Why does it accept and then long to recover? It is only the time needed not just to repair the original tear, but to regain the range of movement and strength in the hamstring and surrounding muscle groups. These muscles are constantly in utilise, existence subjected to the stress and strain of everyday activities. Your body is trying to heal an injury that is under constant attack. 2 steps forwards, i pace dorsum.

Partial healing tin can happen relatively quickly, but consummate recovery takes longer. An article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that athletes in a rehabilitation programme with agility/stabilisation exercises rather than strength/stretching exercises had a most seventy% lower risk of re-injury. If you first ambitious stretching exercises besides soon, you tin can create more damage. One step forwards, two steps back. It'south the same with increasing your range of movement. Too shortly, or as well aggressively and y'all impair the healing procedure. Ditto for strengthening exercises.

Why tailored concrete therapy tin can help reduce recovery times

Each person and each hamstring injury is unique. Understanding the severity of an injury, the verbal area of damage and what caused the injury is the start to putting in place a bespoke treatment and practice program.

Information technology is important to have into account the range of movement and strength you had before the injury. Hamstring injuries recur as much from the incorrect awarding of stretching and strengthening exercises, as they exercise from returning to sport as well soon. A professional osteopath or physiotherapist can assistance assess yous, your injury, and your goals, and then put in place a plan that'south correct for you.

Recovery takes a long time and recurring hamstring injury is unfortunately very common. We wish you good luck in your rehabilitation and a swift return to your chosen sporting activities. Just not too swift!