Recurring Hamstring Tears/Strains

Hi everyone,

I'm a 26 year old male, 5'10" and I play rugby and football (soccer). I've always been a quick sprinter but I've never trained, it just seems to come naturally. About 5 years ago during a sprint in a training drill my right hamstring pulled and seemed to bunch up just below by bum. Ever since then it has been a recurring thing, I can often pre-empt it now and know when to stop but its become a real problem as it severely limits my participation in sports.

About two years ago now I'd been playing football for almost two hours, I got home and was sat in the bath. When I reached forward to turn the top on to top the water up my right hamstring went again and bunched up the same way. I had to call my housemate to lift me out of the bath tub and support me as I hopped into the front room. I raised the leg, strapped it and iced it. As I led on my back I reached for my phone by my side and my left hamstring did the same thing. Since that they have both been the same.

Last week I ran about a mile around a park in three stages stopping to stretch etc. I got home, had a bath, massaged my hamstrings and put deep heat on and the next day they were very painful and tight. I strapped them both and warmed them up slowly and managed to jog about playing touch rugby but they were stiff for 5 days after and very uncomfortable. Last night I played rugby again and after about 30 minutes they both gave the pulling sensation I feel before they go completely so I had to stop training.

I have tried very light weight hamstring curl exercises in the gym but this gave the same sensation. Are there any exercises or stretches I can do? If I stand upright and try to touch my toes my fingertips are perhaps halfway down my shin so I'm very inflexible. I've read that taping them may help but I don't know if I want to wax the backs of my legs to try this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you for taking the time to read this.

Chris

It sounds like you may have a larger tear in the muscle or musculotendious juction somewhere. I would try to get either a diagnostic ultrasound on the muscle (perhaps dynamically to assess the fibres as you perform a hamstring curl with the weight for the leg only) or an MRI. Stretching is not going to assist at this stage. Nor are hamstring curls in the gym. You must consider an investigation at this stage to ascertain what is damaged and the extent of the damage.

Thank you for the response, how would I go about arranging this? Through my GP or a private physio?

Through either actually. Although if you want it on insurance or via the NHS then via the GP would be the best route. If private either can assist and the Physio may know somewhere to get an inexpensive scan done.

Thank you so much for your help. I'll make an appointment later in the week. Thanks again

Please do let us know how you get on following the investigation and the results. Best of luck

I will also would like to add for posture analysis and or lower cross syndrome assessment. More simplistic you may have tight hip flexors and or the pelvis been in anterior tilt. Both are typical presented in sprinters and footballers.