Causes

The most common cause of tendon inflammation is overuse of your hamstrings. It results from repetitive stress placed on your hamstring muscles and tendons during active sports (especially when running, kicking, jumping, or quick "start/stop" motions); your hamstrings will tighten to prevent your body from falling forward which results in a pulled tendon. Overloading or overexerting yourself by doing too much too soon, and too quickly can also be a cause. This sudden increase in the intensity and frequency of participation after being inactive for a while makes you susceptible to tendonitis. Improper training techniques (running on hilly or hard surfaces), incorrect form (overstriding in running or lifting too much weight) and old equipment (worn out shoes) will also put you at more risk for injury. Previous injuries that haven't healed properly are a frequent cause of tendonitis and tendinosis.

Other causes include: alignment issues (overpronation) and leg length discrepancies, which affect the way you walk, as well as strength differences in your muscles, lack of exercise and obesity, age-related weaknesses and/or degeneration, and genetics.

Hamstring Symptoms & Diagnosing

As tendonitis and tendinosis develop the symptoms get progressively worse. The main symptoms you will experience include:

Pain and tenderness in and around your knee (small area along the back and sides of your knee to the top of your shin bone) or around your ischial tuberosity (the bony part of your butt and the back of your upper thigh). Depending on your location of pain, you may experience discomfort in your knee and hip when you bend your leg or squat against resistance, or when you straighten your leg and extend your hip, because your tendon is forced to stretch. This pain often develops slowly and becomes more painful when overexerting yourself or after exercise. You can also experience pain with prolonged sitting.

Decreased mobility and stiffness in your hip or knee during and after exercise can be experienced, especially at night. If allowed to progress, you may start to experience stiffness at rest.

Weakness in your hamstring muscles and tendons can also be experienced that makes it difficult for you to walk or run and can result in you walking with a limp.

Swelling where your hamstring tendon inserts on your knee/shinbones (around the back edges of the knee) or near your upper thigh and "sit bones" can occur. However, if you have tendinosis, you may not experience any swelling. You may also notice some redness and warmth around the area of your tendon attachment, which can often indicate another injury to your joint capsule.

With hamstring tendinopathy you may also experience lumbar lordosis and an anterior pelvic tilt.

Stages of tendinitis pain:

• Minor twinges that occur early in your workouts and generally go away after warming up; we often ignore these, however they tend to indicate the first signs of tendinitis (normally a few weeks to 3 months)
• Pain that stays longer and returns after workout (normally 3 -6 months)
• Pain that is constant (normally have it for 6+ months)

Your doctor will take your medical history and will examine your hamstring for any inflammation and deformities. He/she will analyze your flexibility, stability, and gait (the way you walk). Occasionally an x-ray (check for bone and joint inflammation or arthritis), or MRI scans or CT scans (to show soft tissue damage) may be requested.

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.

Our Hot/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 - this way they can heat or cool one while wearing the other. 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 Therapy is also a helpful tool for pain prevention of a pulled hamstring, and having a portable ultrasound device at home can be a powerful and convenient treatment tool. If you have symptoms or are recovering from a hamstring injury, using ultrasound on a regular basis before your activity or throughout the day will help relax your hamstring muscles, tendons and tissues, diminish pain and inflammation, soften scar tissue and contribute greatly to the healing of your injury.

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. When you're on the go, and not near an electrical outlet, take advantage of the "where anywhere" concept of our hot/cold wraps - the highest rated wraps in the industry. 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.