Hamstring is the group of muscles that can be found in the back of the thigh. These muscles allow you to bend your leg through the knee. These muscles are vital. That is why if it is stressed, there is a tendency that you will feel pain and it will affect your walking. It is an injury that is commonly being felt by all athletes. Once it occurred to them, expect that it will affect their sport and eliminate them from the game. One of the common injuries related to this is pulled hamstring injury. It occurs when the muscle is suddenly pressured or stressed while relaxing or contracting. This occurrence will now be called as pulled hamstring. Even though this injury commonly happens to athletes, there are also some people who might experience this. It is especially the case to those who are not performing warm-up exercises before doing strength-training exercises.
The pain is experienced because during the time when the hamstring is pulled, one of the three muscles in the group has been stretched too far. In some cases, it even results in tearing of the muscles. Exercising, lots of running as well jumping and sudden stopping or starting any strenuous activity can lead to pulled hamstring. If the person still continued to use the affected part, it may lead to getting a serious injury. That is why you have to be aware of the pulled hamstring symptoms. This way, you can control your movement and avoid further affecting the injury you already have.
The pulled hamstring symptoms you should watch out for include sudden pain that rises from the back of the thigh. When the injury is only mild, the injured person may feel stiffness in their thigh part. The person will find it hard to walk since there is pain or stiffness. There are also times that the person will experience a severe case of pulled hamstring. If this happens, there will be bruising and swelling accompanied with pain. You will not be able to straighten or bend your knee or you will just feel the pain.
Tenderness is also one of the pulled hamstring symptoms. If you feel this along with swelling and pain, you can use a knee splint for a while until it heals. You can also use crutches if you are not able to put your weight on the affected leg. Compression bandage wrapped around the injured thigh will also help in healing the pulled muscles just like the rest.
Expect to experience the pulled hamstring symptoms, especially soreness and pain for 2 to 5 days. This is only for the Grade 1 of hamstring strain injury – pulled hamstring. If the muscles are torn, you will have to endure the pain and other symptoms for up to some months. Lots of bruising occurs if the injury reached up to your knee or buttocks. It is an indication that the hamstring is pulled off the bone. If this is the case, you will be referred to an orthopedic doctor to treat the injury.
These pulled hamstring symptoms can only be experienced if you did not take proper caution. Make sure to do warm up exercises to avoid experiencing these.