Hamstring injury treatment.
Australian rules football is the most prevalent and physical sport in Australia, well known for the athleticism of the players to manoeuvre and kick an oval-shaped ball in various directions. For many years in AFL, hamstring strain has dominated as the most common injury.
High-speed running and kicking put a lot of stress on the hamstrings. With accumulated fatigue,weakness, tightness or inadequate warm up, the hamstring muscle can sustain a tear or strain. In most cases, the diagnosis of a hamstring injury is straightforward and easily recognisable, and most players return to football within 3-4 weeks with proper rehabilitation.
Read ahead to learn more about how to manage these injuries with Star Physio’s expert physio Aaron Tay.
Recurrence of hamstring injury.
Extensive studies however show that 30% of hamstring strains recur. Having a previous hamstring injury greatly increases the risk of reinjury of the same hamstring. As the old saying goes, prevention is better than cure. If you find that you’re needing to foam roll or have frequent massages for your tight hamstrings, they are undeniably not robust enough. Check out some great exercises below!
Aaron Tay’s top hamstring exercises!
Try the below exercises that have helped Aaron’s players tremendously throughout the footy season for injury prevention. These are the starting point for each exercise, and with appropriate timing and direction, should be gradually increased in intensity and load to provide an adequate strength response and the ideal rehabilitation from hamstring injury.
1. Bridge
2. Romanian deadlift (RDL) Single Leg.
3. Nordics
What to do if you sustain a hamstring injury.
Star Physio’s Aaron Tay is physiotherapist to Belmont Districts Football Club, working with amateur players to elite as well as footy ‘veterans’! He has managed many new and recurrent hamstring injuries at the club and at Star Physio West Perth and Mosman Park. If you suspect that you’ve sustained a hamstring injury, the key advice is to be assessed as soon as you can to diagnose injury severity, and make a plan to get back to playing safely and with the least possible chance of recurrence.
The good news is that in some cases there is very little damage and training can be resumed quickly. With lower grade hamstring strains, treatment and progressive strengthening with guidance can commence almost immediately to reduce risk of further harm and facilitate recovery.
In severe cases, where bone or complete rupture is involved in the hamstring tear, surgical repair may be necessary. This will extend recovery time to beyond 4 months and will require extensive rehabilitation. Star Physio’s West Perth office is based within Perth Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Centre where we can directly refer you to one of the best sports doctors or surgeons when necessary.
The “wait and see” approach! Say goodbye to the season!
Did you know that every day you rest a muscle unnecessarily, it costs you an extra 3 days in rehabilitation time? Sit around thinking about your sore hamstring for a couple of weeks and say goodbye to the rest of the season potentially!
Get it diagnosed and start your rehabilitation today!
The Star Physio team is proud to offer this expert advice and hope we don’t need to see you! If however you do have a suspected hamstring injury, trust the experts and make sure you get it diagnosed quickly!
Book a consultation with Aaron Tay today here!
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