How to know if you have hamstring injury?

So, you were playing soccer and suddenly felt something pop in the back of your thigh. Or maybe you did the splits during yoga class and now cannot move without wincing in pain – whatever the reason might be, it is quite possible that you have injured your hamstring. Congratulations.

Now, before we dive into the how-to’s of self-diagnosis, let us first address an important question: What are hamstrings? Yes yes we know they’re muscles but even geniuses (like ourselves) can use a little reminder every once in awhile.

Meet Your Muscular Prisoners: The Hamstrings

Hamstrings are three muscles running along the back of your thigh- Biceps Femoris (this American term just won’t die), Semitendinosus, and Semimembranosus (No I didn’t make those up) – connecting your hip bone down below your knee cap. These muscles aid several movements we perform daily like bending knees, extending thighs so that hips can move forward while walking or running etcetera.

They are also at risk for injury due to their location being situated within the compound area between two joints prone to motion. This nature makes them extremely sensitive to sudden motions but susceptible at other times too! Any damage caused here means big trouble towards athletic performance especially for athletes who either run races competitively or play sports involving sudden pivoting like tennis or foosball.

You Might Have Injured Your Hamstring If…

Most injuries occur when there is any excessive stretching over time which leads them vulnerable enough where minor rips can turn into tears leaving you as sad as Mozart on his final breath (with all due respect).

Here some factors which accurately describe what type of incident may cause hamstring injuries:

1. Felt Like an “Electric Shock”?

If while working out or while performing some other sudden movement which involves repeatedly throwing your body around, you suddenly feel a shooting pain in the back of your thigh- similar to an electric shock – this might suggest that one or more of your hamstrings got hurt.

2. A Bruise?

If, for what initially seemed like no apparent reason at all as though Earth has betrayed you and doesn’t want you happy any longer, upon inspecting yourself visually, notice bruising along with sharp pain then a tear needs to be confirmed diagonally immediately!

3. Soreness?

Some less severe symptoms may consist of soreness – accompanied by regular tingling sensations (often when sitting down) during movements involving lower-body contact can also mean damaged hamstring fiber.

Taking Control of Your Distress

So now that we have established how torn hamstrings feel like (hint: Like our tears on unrequited love), let’s move on towards cure and recovery because its onward and upwards from here hopefully!

1. Relax First

The first thing to do once realizing/confirming or possessing even the slightest gravitational pull towards the possibility that hamstring is torn/cramped is that promptly relaxing followed by icing it up as soon after seems fitting as long-term irreparability looms if not dealt with hastily.

2. Ice – Milk Optional

For initial treatment applying ice compress onto fixture points inside interior areas impacted by physical blockage will assist reducing inflammation thereby lowering pain originated out of affected area(s). Keep doing so periodically several times daily soon enough hemorrhaging rate drops facilitating significant healing time; could possibly require reduction in weight-bearing exercises until said period attains measurable progress evidently observable say scientifically after approximately three weeks… okay we admit maybe some amount of reading comprehension skills were required then 🤷‍♂️ but hey anyone reading this article would already be a genius by virtue of their interest in hamstrings so they should be fine 😂.

3. Rest

The strained area needs rest while you take some as well, duh; if not it would be like a traffic jam on your roads – everyone’s trying to pass through the same spot and no one can move (except for that brazen motorist who decides he will try sneaking between two stationary vehicles).

Try to avoid moving about- or engaging yourself with any other types of physical activity unless it is something necessary priority-wise which cannot wait for long periods thereby requiring mayhem inducing panic due to frantic requests concerning its completion within fixed deadline otherwise 💀

But When SHOULD You See a Doctor?

1. Pain Worsens Over Time

If after icing those poles there is no specific improvement witnessed over multiple attempts combined with progressive increase in sensations indicating severe discomfort like visible swelling accompanied by stiffness then consulting a specialist doctor ++physiotherapist++ might solve problem underlining cause(s) more elaborately explaining how hamstring tear has occurred along with supervision for further treatment upto full recovery.

2. Can’t Walk Without Support

However sometimes ignoring gnawing wails from bruised muscles entirely are not at all wise especially when attempting even basic walking results numbing sensation/sudden loss-of-movement-reflexes which often indicates period where folks near enough whisk us away since we’re simply incapacitated 🤕

In Summary

To sum the whole procedure up: First understand and acknowledge what hamstring injuries entail, second look out for critical symptoms mentioned above followed promptly thereafter by immediate R.I.C.E + many possible follow-up treatments aimed towards significant relief eventually leading unto complete restoration of health gone disturbed!

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