Hamstrings are a group of muscles located in the posterior thigh region, at the back of the lower limbs. This musculature is mainly responsible for the hip extension and knee flexion movements and crosses both joints. It is highly demanded in activities such as running, as it has a fundamental role in the biomechanics of the movement performed, besides controlling the speed of the strides.
Hamstring discomfort is usually caused by stretches, which are a very common injury in individual sports that require great muscle power. It is also not uncommon for practitioners of body contact activities to experience pain in the region due to the impacts and blows suffered. See our suggestions to strengthen your hamstrings and prevent injuries.
Improve your posture
A misalignment in the hip will make one side stronger than the other. This generates a sudden change in gait and ends up generating more stress in the hamstrings. A knee deviation can also cause the same problem. Basically, it is essential to adjust the posture as a whole so as not to have hamstring injuries. It is why we recommend you doing Hamstring cardio exercises.
Do specific training
It seems obvious, but this is a point where there are a lot of mistakes. First, people start training their thighs with the quadriceps. It is not a mistake, but it is something that needs to be thought out. If you are more rested and will be able to exercise more efficiently at the beginning of your workout, why not start with the muscles that need more attention? So if you have signs of muscle weakness in your hamstrings, start your thigh training with them. Try Hamstring hiit workout. However, we need these movements to be made with acceptable loads to improve strengthening.
Bet on eccentric training
Eccentric training is gaining a lot of space in training to prevent injuries. This is due to the fact that most injuries occur when the load overcomes resistance. In the case of hamstrings it is widely used. We can use a much slower eccentric phase, or exercises that optimize it. A very common case is Nordic flexion. Preventing hamstring injuries is a constant challenge. These muscles have specificities and need to be worked with intelligence.
Strengthen your core
The core will help to stabilize movements and make the hamstrings more efficient. Properly strengthening the glutes, lumbar and abdominal muscles are essential to prevent hamstring injuries. Apparently, they wouldn’t have that much interaction. But with weaker lumbar muscles, hamstrings are more in demand in hip extension. So, the heavy lifting is all up to them and the glutes.
How to treat hamstring injuries?
Treatment varies according to the severity and intensity of the injury. Immediately, a decrease in physical activity is recommended. Professional guidance is also important to promote a gain in range of motion and muscle strengthening. This is because the pain caused by the injury may generate a compensatory movement in other regions and bring new injuries. In cases of acute pain, rest is essential, with the application of cold compresses in the injured region. Of course, the priority is to consult a physical therapist, an orthopedist or a sports doctor for other prescriptions. Thus, the injury is treated correctly, as poorly healed muscle injuries can become chronic, which has a negative impact on performance and weakens the body.
In more rare cases, when the injury is very serious, surgical intervention may be necessary. Generally, at the time of the injury, it is possible to notice the severity with a cracking sound as if the musculature had ruptured pain close to the buttocks or in the posterior part of the knee, large amount of bruises in the posterior part of the thigh, difficulty in moving or weakness in the injured leg.
