Hamstring injuries are the single most common injury in professional football, as well as being the second most common injury in rugby. With the Premiership football season starting up again this weekend, we thought it would be good to give you some pointers on what you can do to avoid suffering a hamstring injury.
The hamstrings are three muscles which run from your pelvis, down the back of your thigh bone to just below your knee. Their main function is to bend your knee and extend your hip. They are most often injured during running and this is due to the fact that they help to control your leg as it lands during running gait.
Lots of research has gone into what puts people at risk of injuring their hamstrings and contrary to popular belief, it is not the hamstrings being tight. The biggest risk factors for injuring your hamstrings are weakness in the hamstring and a previous injury to them (normally because people don’t rehabilitate them sufficiently and they develop scar tissue and weakness).
So below are some great ways which you can strengthen up your hamstrings –
Good mornings – Stand on the affected leg and bend forwards from the hips keeping your back straight. Then slowly return to an upright position. This can be done with small weights or a gym ball to make it slightly more difficult. Aim for 12-15 reps, or as many as you can manage.
Gym Ball Curls – Start lying on your back with feet on gym ball. Keeping core control lift up your bottom then bring knees up towards your chest. Aim for 12-15 reps, or as many as you can manage. Start by doing it slowly, but if it gets easier, then try it quickly as this represents our hamstrings function.
Single Leg Bridge – Lying on you back when your affected leg bent. Contract your bottom muscles and lift yourself off the floor as pictured. Aim for 12-15 reps, or as many as you can manage.
If you are suffering with a hamstring problem then why not get in touch and book yourself in for an appointment on 01276 37670 or email us admin@bs.ftcdesign.co.uk/thorpes.
We also have our cutting edge ViMove sensors, which can measure the strength and speed of your hamstrings to show if there is any asymmetry which could be putting you at risk of injury