An Injury Setback

After a bright start to 2013, I suffered an injury setback. Last Friday, I tore my left hamstring. It's been almost 11 years since I had a hamstring injury. With the clock ticking down, I need to be able to shake off the injury for our next match in February. Here's a rundown for my injury. 

A pulled hamstring may also be called a torn hamstring or hamstring strain. It’s when one or more of the hamstring muscles are abruptly or forcefully stretched/pulled past their normal positioning. This injury is commonly caused by activities that involve sprinting, such as track, football, baseball and basketball.

Anatomy As It Related To A Pulled Hamstring

The hamstring actually isn’t one large muscle, but rather three muscles located in the posterior thigh. The semitendinosus, the semimembranosus and the biceps femoris comprise the hamstring. It starts in the lower pelvis and runs the length of the femur bone. It crosses the back of the knee along either side and attaches to the fibula and tibia bones. The large muscle controls much movement in the body. It helps to turn the leg out and in, allows the knee to flex, assists with hip extension, and is highly involved with power lower extremity movements for thrust and propulsion. The hamstring is also highly involved is eccentric movement. It increases in length when under tension, acting as a braking system to stop the movement. This action can be felt in the hamstring as one tries to stop suddenly from a sprint.

Causes Of A Pulled Or Torn Hamstring

The biceps femoris is the most often pulled hamstring muscle. More often than not, pulled hamstrings occur while under eccentric motion. The stretching or tearing could also be the result of a direct hit to the area or any movement that causes the muscle fibers to abruptly or forcefully contract. Other risk factors include:

* poor flexibility

* significant imbalances in strength or flexibility between hamstring and quadriceps muscle groups

* hamstring fatigue or weakness

* overexertion of hamstring

* leg length differences may cause tighter and more apt to pull hamstrings

* participation in activities and sports that require quick starts-and-stops

Let's hope I'm able to recover on time as I need match fitness and match sharpness as well. Hope this injury is not too severe. Til next time folks. Cheerio!