Hamstring Injury

[soonerman]

My son injured his hamstring last summer and then again in the fall while conditioning for and then playing football. He has gone thru re-hab (rest, ultrasonic, massage, etc.) and has done strengthing exerecises. However, now that he has started conditioning drills again, he still has some pain and weakness in that hamstring. I anticipated that it would take months for his injury to heal but thought it would be much better by now (9 months since his last injury). What are the appropriate steps to take at this time?

[Heidi]

Hi,

It sounds like he did the right things, I just wonder if he did enough of the right things?

Repetitive hamstring injuries can be troublesome. Rehabilitation should include:

Deep tissue massage (on a regular basis, say, weekly throughout the process)

Stretching - about 3 times a day, have a look at this link for variations of hamstring stretches:
http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/stretching/allstretches.php

Strengthening - of the hamstring muscles, but also all muscles which attach to the pelvis (e.g. gluteus muscles,inner thigh & core muscles). It is important that these muscles are strong as the pelvis provides a stable base for the hamstrings to attach.

Strengthening should progress from isometric (holding) exercises, all the way through to dynamic strengthening (lunging, squatting, jumping etc)

Have a looka t our hamstring pages to get some more advise/ideas:
http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/back/hamstrings/hamstringstrain.htm

Good luck