Pulled hamstrings are a common injury among competitive athletes and weekend warrior types.
The hamstrings are a group of three large muscles on the posterior thigh that flexes the knee and straighten the hip. They attach at the ischial tuberosity, also known as the sits bones, and span across the back of the knees.
Surprisingly, these large muscles are not very active with regular walking or standing. However, they are exceptionally critical in power activities such as running, jumping, and climbing.
Thus, sedentary individuals can get by with quite weak or unconditioned hamstrings, whereas athletes and very physically active individuals undoubtedly depend on healthy, well-conditioned hamstrings.
Sports Massage speeds up the recovery of pulled hamstrings by breaking down the new collagen network.
New collagen network? Huh, what’s that mean?
When a muscle is strained, the body’s natural response is to lay down collagen fibers (the building blocks of scar tissue).
The new scar tissue resembles a disorganized web of collagen fibers. Massage breaks down the new collagen network allowing for correct muscle fiber realignment in such a way that it minimizes scar tissue.
Also, massage loosens and stretches the tight muscles, helping to increase their blood flow so that the oxygen-enriched nutrients can keep them healthy and injury-free.
Hamstring strains can come back if not treated, so a regular massage routine is suggested to improve the condition of the muscles.
STRETCHING THE HAMSTRINGS
A proper warm-up is essential if you want to reduce the likelihood of a hamstring pull. Click here for a some recommended hamstring stretches.
Using a Thera-band Stretch Strap is exceptionally effective at increasing the flexibility of the hamstrings and restoring range of motion. Instead of doing a long static stretch of 15-30 seconds, one would do a pre-stretch contraction with the elastic strap for 3-5 seconds and then stretch for 10-15 seconds.
Using this kind of strap would remove any need for a stretching partner.
