Sore hamstring facts

How to recognize sore hamstring and why does it occur?

When a person experiences some kind of an injury to the hamstring, which is a group of tendons at the back of the knee, then the pain is one of the main symptoms that indicate it. This type of injury is particularly common in people who are into sports, although it is not uncommon that those who are not athletes suffer from this problem too. Besides an injury, a number of other reasons, among which are also lack of flexibility in the muscles, weakness, improper shoes, as well as situations in which legs are under excessive stress, can cause or lead to sore hamstring.

There are three grades of soreness of hamstring, and the least severe involves only a few muscle fibers, while the most severe soreness of hamstring occurs when the muscle ruptures. The symptoms depend on the grade and they may range from only mild pain in the leg to sharp and burning pain, which is often accompanied by a lump of the muscle tissue. If this kind of an injury happens in small children, it might cause a lot more damage and even leave some permanent consequences.

What to do in order to treat it?

It is important to be aware of the fact that this condition does not always have to be serious. The treatment depends on the severity, which is why it is recommended to rest for a day or two and give a chance to some natural ways of treatment before going to the doctor. Of course, this advice does not go for the cases in which it is obvious that it is a serious injury, because no time should be wasted then. As for the natural ways of treatment, they include keeping the leg on an elevated position and applying some ice packs for no longer than 20 minutes. Ice packs should not be applied directly, but they should be wrapped up in a towel, for example. It is allowed to take some medications that will relieve the pain and internal bleeding or swelling could be kept under control with the help of compression bandage. With these measures, the symptoms should withdraw within a day or two, and after that, the person in question may begin with stretching the leg. In case the person does not feel any improvement after a day or two, the doctor should be consulted. Duration of the recovery depends on the seriousness of the injury, and it will take 4 to 6 weeks for milder cases to fully recover, while more serious ones might even take 3 months.