One of the causes of pain in the back of the thigh are hamstring strains. Acute, moderate/severe strains are common amongst runners especially sprinters and footballers while they are putting in shorts sprint bursts with a change of direction. They make up about 12% of injuries with football.
We have two hamstrings on the outside and two on the inside and they are very active as the leg is swinging through during the gait cycle to help decelerate the foot as its just about to make contact with the ground. So at this point the muscle is lengthening while maximally contracting.
So predisposing factors to strains can be due a number of things.
Age: The classic saying of if don’t use it you lose it cant be more relevant. As we age unfortunately we don’t spend enough time doing exercises that increase our muscle mass. We tend to stop producing new muscle fibers as we enter our forties so therefore have a higher prevalence of straining the muscles as it succumbs to high levels of force and load.
Previous injuries: Our bodies will always take the path of least resistance after an injury as our nervous systems main priority is to protect the area while tissue healing occurs. If for example we sprain our ankle the muscle reflex response during that protection phase is inhibiting certain calf muscles on the outside of the leg. If this happens then there is increased demand on the hamstrings to help dissipate the force as the calf has now become less efficient at doing so.
Pelvis position: In a day and age where we are sitting more and breathing with less optimal patterns our rib cage and pelvis will start to orientate themselves in a way that starts to position the hamstrings in a way where they become long and contracted. So as there is now less slack in them they don’t have the capacity to lengthen anymore which raises the prevalence of a strain
Referred pain: A very common cause of pain the the back of the thigh that mimics hamstring strains is neural irritation to the L5 and S1 nerves due to degenerative spinal discs and joints and entrapment via the muscles in the back of the pelvis.
There are tests that we can perform in an assessment that can gives us clarity to whether its a hamstring tear or referred hamstring pain.
If we are dealing with a true hamstring strain then there are some nice strengthening exercises that I would like to share with you which progressively loads the muscle. These exercises tend to follow some local work such as myofascial cupping and acupuncture to the area to increase blood flow and reduce the muscles high level of protective muscle tone
Feel free to give them a try but be wary that if you do have a referred hamstring pain these exercises can be counterproductive.
If you have any further questions please do get in contact so we can assess you properly and advise you on the best course of action.
Thanks
Mario
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