Treatments & Prevention

Early diagnosis and proper treatment are important, however hamstring tendinitis can be difficult to prevent as symptoms often start long after you've had the condition. Tendon injuries are generally slow to heal, as they have limited blood supply and are complicated by the formation of scar tissue. The goal is to protect your injured tissues, allow your tendon to heal naturally and return to your normal routines as soon as possible. Failure to see improvements after conservative treatments may make injections or surgery your only options.

Resting your hamstring is essential to preventing further injury. Apply ice or better yet a cold gel pack (because it molds to your body) for 10-20 minutes at a time for at least 3 times a day for the first day up to 3 days, compress the area with a brace or compression short, which will reduce initial inflammation and swelling, and elevate your leg above chest level.

Our Cold Compression Wraps are recommended as the best by the Mayo Clinic, several professional sports organizations, and countless medical professionals. That's why we sell them, because they are the best. We have noticed over time that our customers are so fond of our cold wraps that they are frequently coming back and ordering a second one. The wraps are becoming very popular with baseball and soccer trainers, and the wraps can be conveniently stored in a cooler for quick application on the field when needed.

Ultrasound is an excellent tool to immediately help reduce pain and inflammation when treating hamstring tendinitis. The application of ultrasound over your affected area reduces swelling, increases blood flow, decreases pain, relieves tension making muscles and tendons more flexible, minimizes scar tissue, and helps your tendon tissues heal more quickly. It can be performed at home easily and safely with a portable ultrasound device.

An Infrared Personal Therapy system is one of the most helpful tools for hamstring tendinitis. Through the absorption of infrared thermal energy, tissues are safely and gently heated - increasing blood flow within the treated area. Your body's natural response to this increased temperature is to try to maintain a condition of homeostasis - a balanced environment or state of equilibrium throughout the body. To do this, your body responds with a rapid increase in blood flow to the area (this is known as vasodilation), increasing the supply of nutrients to injured cells and flushing out toxins (including lactic acid, commonly found in trigger points) to promote healing. Our Thermotex Platinum Pain Relief Device provides effective, non-invasive, non-addictive pain relief with no side effects.

Often people ice once or twice, rest a bit, then take some Advil or Tylenol and continue with their regular routine. If their strain was minor, their body may heal the soft tissues normally. Unfortunately, this is not the usual result. Because of the stress on the muscle and tendon, their body heals the injured fibers by binding them together with scar tissue. The trick to any tendon injury is getting it to heal with minimal scar tissue formation - something Radiant Energy and Ultrasound are great at! However, even with optimum healing there is always less elasticity in a previously injured tendon.

Other things you can do to help your healing and prevent further injury are:

Wear appropriate athletic and/or regular shoes that are comfortable and provide significant arch support and motion control.

Utilize corrective footwear, orthotics or other foot devices provide support and alignment (check to see if you wear out the soles of your shoes on one side) and/or supportive items, such as compression shorts, braces or taping to eliminate stress on your muscles.

Follow a stretching, strengthening and endurance exercise routine that conditions your hamstrings, as well as your other leg muscles, lower back, gluteals and pelvis which will keep your muscles balanced, strong and limber.

Modify, decrease and/or avoid activities or motions that cause pain and irritation, and ensure you always warm up and cool down before participating in activities.

Gentle massage after vigorous activities will help relax your tissues; physical therapy, acupressure, deep massage and chiropractic care are also good for more severe cases.

Proper food and fluid intake prior to and during activities will ensure you are nourished and prevent against fatigue and dehydration.

Recovery can take between a few weeks for hamstring tendinitis to many months (or even years) once it's become a chronic condition. It is really dependent on your type of injury and your commitment to proper rehabilitation. Patience is required as reinjury is frequent and generally more severe. A good reference point for healing is once you've regained approximately 90% of your pre-injury strength, have full range of motion and are pain free, you can return to your normal activities. The more dedicated you are with your treatments, the faster you will see successful, long-lasting results.

See Pulled Hamstrings for more detailed information.

If you suffer from mild inflammation or pain after certain activities or movements use ultrasound therapy when you complete the activity and then rest and elevate your leg. Limit the application of ultrasound to a couple of treatments per day (the manual will recommend treatment frequency depending upon the injury). In between ultrasound treatments, maximize your pain relief and injury recovery by using the Thermotex Personal Therapy System. Proven Performance, Proven Relief - and only found at the MendMeShop Store. If you have been given a treatment plan by your health professional, make sure you adhere to it to ensure pain free living. In general, people who are committed to their therapies and exercises will have the best medical outcomes.