A hamstring injury occurs when you tear small fibers that the muscle is made up of; you would definitely know if this happened to you. Whether it is referred to as a pull or a strain, it is a painful experience regardless of the word that is utilized to define it.
Your hamstring is really three different muscles, so your rehabilitation program could vary depending on the specific hamstring injury. You use these muscles practically each time you move your leg, so it goes without saying that they are crucial to your livelihood. They enable you to bend your knee and extend your hip; walking can be extremely difficult if you do not have full use of them.
Simply standing in one place can be awkward and uncomfortable if you have been unlucky enough to acquire a hamstring injury. You may be unable to work until you are fully recovered and probably will not be much help around the house, to make matters worse. Needless to say, it is in your best interest to make yourself conscious of what can you do to avoid having to deal with these inconveniences altogether.
The most common cause of this type of injury is something called eccentric contraction; a term that most folks are quite unfamiliar with. This happens when two forces yank your muscles in two different directions at the exact same time; obviously, they are not designed to do things of this nature. It can happen while you are lifting weights, impacting the ground or coming into physical contact with another person.
Anytime you partake in physical activities you are putting your hamstrings (and the rest of your body’s muscles) at risk. On the football field, the force of every tackle (especially if more than two people are involved) is enough to tear several of your fibers. You need to jump quite a bit when you play basketball, and with so many other things on your mind you cannot spend too much time thinking about landing appropriately.
You should still read about hamstring injury treatment even if you make it a point to stay away from contact sports. Pivots, dives, forehands and backhands on the tennis court will all put your hamstrings through the ringer, and overcome them if they are not fit. Outfielders in baseball have been known to get injured as a result of standing still for long periods of time and then moving fast; their muscles cannot perform the same way they can when they have been recently stretched.
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