Ischiotibial muscles injuries;Identification and treatment
We call hamstrings to the set of muscle fibers found in the back of the two thighs. Actually there are three different muscles, although let’s name them and study all together. These three muscles are:
- Femoral biceps
- SEMIMEMBRANOSO
- Semitendininos
The hamstrings are born the pelvis and, from there, they perform their descent journey to the knee, inserting in the back of the same. They are strong muscular fibers with great contraction power.
So great as they are, they have the ability to injure an important way. The basic lesions of the hamstrings are the contracture, the rupture and the distension. By far, the latter is the most repeated among athletes. The most affected are soccer players, basketball players and tennis players. Actually, any physical activity that implies abrupt outputs and arrests can injure these muscles.
Risk factors for hamstrings lesions
As we said, the hamstrings are injured in soccer, basketball and tennis athletes mainly. The other sports are also at risk where there is an overload of these muscles by jumps or intense braking. Out of sport, it is an injury that affects dancers.
But there are other risk factors that intervene:
- Have suffered ischiotibial lesions previously: Once these muscles have been injured, the lesion is more likely to be repeated. Therefore, rehabilitation is fundamental.
- Being unleasible: there are people who, congenitally, have less flexibility than the others. This condition is not pathological, but it favors ligament and muscular distensions.
- Imbalan: This concept is discussed by scientists and experts in sports science. In theory, an imbalance could be generated in the thigh if the exercise that is practiced develops the front muscles, such as quadriceps, and less the rear. Having more power of force at the head of the thigh, that overload would injure the hamstrings.
The distension of the ischiotibial and their classification
The distension of the hamstring muscles is the most frequent lesion of this muscular group. But not all distensions are equal. There are different degrees of severity:
First grade: it is a slight stretch. For the athlete the symptom is barely barely, retaining the mobility of the lower limb. Physical activity can continue to be developed and it is even possible that the concrete pain does not become evident after a few days of the injury. The treatment is with local cold only.
Second grade: it is a moderate gravity injury. Beyond the stretching of muscle fibers, tears or breaks also appear along the muscle. It hurts more than the first degree and can be accompanied by inflammation and edema. It is common for the lesion to barely happen the athlete perceives it and is forced to stop the activity.
Third grade: here the injury can be classified as serious. The fibers are frankly broken, resembling a tear. You can damage the place where tendons are inserted into the bones, which increases gravity. The muscle movement capacity is very affected and the pain interrupts any activity that is being carried out.
Treatment
To confirm an lesion of the hamstring muscles you have to perform some image test. It can be soft tissue ultrasound or nuclear magnetic resonance. What will be observed is the change in the affected muscle fibers, whether they are distended or broken.
Although the symptoms can guide the medical diagnosis precisely in some cases, the image test is recommended to confirm. Once the existence of the lesion is established, the treatment plan begins.
The first therapeutic measure is rest. Athletes must stop their training for at least one week. The severity of the lesion will determine whether it is a requirement to continue with rest. Along with this, bandage, application of local cold and elevated foot is indicated.
These measures should relieve the pain of the first week, which is the most intense. A medical professional can indicate an analgesic or anti -inflammatory on demand for greater comfort.
When the pain disappears, the beginning of rehabilitation is raised, which would have two parts. In the first part the generality for muscle is worked. It is a reinforcement stage for fibers to recover the usual physiology. In the second part, on the other hand, there is muscle reconditioning for specific sport. On this there will be differences between the approach to a footballer and a tennis player, for example.
Only very serious cases require surgical intervention. They are exceptional facts and it is not frequent.
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