Hamstring where is it

Increase the duration and intensity of your exercise slowly. If you feel pain in your thigh, stop your activity immediately. If you're worried that you might have strained your hamstring, give it time to rest and don't go back to your activity until your leg feels strong, you have no pain, and you can move your injured leg as freely as the other one.

What's the Treatment for a Hamstring Strain? Limit the amount of walking you do, and try to avoid putting weight on your leg if your doctor recommends this. Use a bag of ice or a cold compress to help reduce swelling for the first 48 hours after the injury. This should begin as soon as possible after the injury and then every 3 to 4 hours for 20 to 30 minutes at a time until the swelling is gone.

Wrap the ice or ice pack in a towel. Don't put ice or ice packs directly on the skin because it can cause tissue damage. C ompress. Use elastic bandages or sports wraps to help support your leg and keep the swelling down if your doctor recommends doing so.

Doctors recommend using elastic compression bandages instead of compression shorts because you can adjust the bandages as needed. E levate. When you are sitting or lying down, keep your leg elevated. Take pain medicine. Ibuprofen and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs can help relieve pain and reduce swelling in the leg. Some doctors prefer other medicines like acetaminophen.

Talk with your doctor about what you should take. Do stretching and strengthening exercises. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Hamstrings are the big muscles located at the back of your thigh. At the hip, the hamstrings play a role in a posture condition known as flat low back. Tight hamstrings may also play a role in sacroiliac dysfunction. Become acquainted with each of the hamstring muscles , including where they attach and what they do.

The hamstrings are a group of four muscles: long head of the biceps femoris, short head of the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus. Each hamstring crosses two joints—the hip and the knee. This means when they contract they can either take your lower extremity back behind you called hip extension or bend the knee called knee flexion. The biceps femoris muscle is one of the big, long muscles at the back of your thigh.

The other one is the semitendinosis; the biceps femoris is lateral, or toward the outside relative to the semitendinosis. The biceps femoris has two heads—a long and a short. At the hip, both the long and short heads rotate the thigh outwardly and extend it backward. At the knee, they flex and laterally rotate the joint. Of all the hamstring muscles, the biceps femoris is the biggest contributor to hip extension.

The long head of the biceps femoris originates on the inner side of your sitting bones, which are little knobs of bone that are technically called the ischial tuberosities. There may have been a "popping" sensation at the time of the injury and you'll be unable to use the affected leg.

Most hamstring injuries can be cared for at home using the techniques outlined below. Consider seeing your GP if you have any concerns about your injury, particularly if you think it's a severe injury, it's not healing, or your symptoms are getting worse. Your GP can also advise you about when you can return to your normal activities and what exercises you should do to aid your recovery in the meantime.

They may be able to refer you to a physiotherapist for specialist treatment in some cases. Recovering from a hamstring injury may take days, weeks or months, depending on how severe it is.

A completely torn hamstring may take several months to heal and you'll be unable to resume training or play sport during this time. During the first 2 or 3 days, you should care for your injury using RICE therapy:. Regular painkillers, such as paracetamol or a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug NSAID cream or gel, may also help relieve the pain.

Short-term use of oral NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen tablets, can also help reduce swelling and inflammation. However, these are not suitable for everyone. Check the leaflet that comes with your medicine to see if you can take it. Returning to strenuous exercise too quickly could make your injury worse, but avoiding exercise for too long can cause your hamstring muscles to shrink and scar tissue to form around the tear. If you have a physically demanding occupation, regular conditioning can help prevent injuries.

Ask your doctor about appropriate conditioning exercises. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Overview A hamstring injury occurs when you strain or pull one of your hamstring muscles — the group of three muscles that run along the back of your thigh.

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