7 Expert Tips on How to Heal a Hamstring Injury

Did you injure your hamstring recently?

It happens more often than you might think. In fact, hamstring strain injuries represented 13% of all injuries among NFL players in a 10-year period.

If you’ve sustained a hamstring injury, it helps to have a treatment plan.

Here are seven expert tips that can help you heal from a pulled hamstring. With these tips, you can minimize the pain and start healing. Rehab your hamstring with these seven easy tips today! 

1. The RICE Method

The best way to start recovering from a hamstring injury is to use the RICE method immediately after sustaining the injury. RICE stands for rest, ice, compress, and elevate.

First, make sure to rest your leg. You want to minimize putting weight on your leg as much as possible. If the pain is intense, you might want to consider using crutches for the time being. 

Feel free to ask your doctor or physical therapist if you should start using crutches.

Next, ice your leg. Ice will help reduce pain and prevent swelling. Try to ice the area for about 20 minutes every three hours.

Next, compress your leg. Wrap an elastic bandage around your leg to ease swelling.

While resting, make sure to elevate your leg. You can use a pillow to keep your leg up.

2. Take a NSAID

NSAID stands for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

These can include ibuprofen (Motrin or Advil) or naproxen (Naprosyn or Aleve). NSAIDs will help minimize your main and swelling.

It’s important to note these drugs can have side effects. You should only use them for short-term pulled hamstring treatment. 

3. Immobilization Therapy

As part of your pulled hamstring recovery, your doctor might ask you to wear a splint.

Embolization therapy will keep your leg in a neutral position to ensure it heals. 

4. Physical Therapy

You might also benefit from physical therapy after sustaining a hamstring injury.

Physical therapy will improve your range of motion, strength, and flexibility through exercise. 

5. Electrotherapy

A pulled hamstring will heal with time. To speed up your recovery, you can use a TENS machine for electrotherapy. 

Electrotherapy can reduce inflammation, strengthen your calf muscle, and provide pain relief. 

6. Surgery

Depending on the severity of your hamstring injury, you might require surgery. Did the tendon tear away from the bone? Surgery can help stitch your muscle back into place after an avulsion injury.

Need to cover your medical bills? Consider visiting https://sweetlaw.com to speak with a physical injury lawyer about compensation. 

7. Precautions

About one-third of hamstring injuries will reoccur. While it’s important to learn how to heal from your hamstring injury, it’s also important to prevent reinjury.

To prevent a future hamstring injury, make sure to warm up before and after physical activity. Don’t increase the intensity of your workouts too quickly. If you feel any pain at the back of your thigh, back sure to stop exercising. 

Pull Through Recovery With These Tips for Healing from a Hamstring Injury

You’ll pull through this! With these seven tips, you can start healing from your hamstring injury immediately. Don’t let your injury slow you down.

Explore our most recent posts for more health-related guides and tips.