If you have aches and pains in the back of your leg, you could be suffering from a hamstring injury. Your hamstring isn’t just one muscle, it actually consists of a group of muscles. These muscles can be found on the back of your thighs.
It’s easy to strain your hamstring if you play a lot of sports such as basketball or soccer, or you run a lot.
So how can you treat hamstring pain? We’re going to look at this now:
Table of Contents
Get Plenty of Rest
Resting your leg is one of the best things that you can do. Undertaking any activity that could make it worse is a bad idea. It will not help your hamstring to recover. In fact, you could make it worse. If you have to move around use some crutches so you’re not putting much weight on your leg.
It’s only natural for you to want your hamstring to heal quickly. It’s thought that laser therapy or red light therapy can prove beneficial but you must continue to rest after the therapy.
Treat with Ice
Ice can help to reduce inflammation in your hamstring. When you have less inflammation, you have less pain. This can help to speed up the healing process.
To treat your hamstring with ice, simply wrap some ice cubes in a towel. Place the towel on your hamstring for 15 to 20 minutes at a time. Do this every 2 to 3 hours each day. If you don’t have any ice cubes, use frozen peas.
Use Compression
Compression can help to reduce swelling. It also limits your movement which allows you to rest your leg. Take a bandage and wrap it around your thigh. Don’t wrap it so tight that you cut off the circulation. Blood should still be able to flow through the veins in your leg. Just have the compression tight enough so that your leg feels supported and your movement is limited.
Elevate your Leg
Elevating your leg is a good way to help it heal. This is because you will not have as much blood flowing to your leg. Try to keep your leg elevated, preferably higher than your heart. When you keep it elevated, you will help to reduce swelling. This may well mean that you have to lay down all day, but it’s worth it if it speeds recovery.
Take Pain Killers
It’s likely that if you damaged your hamstring that you will be in pain. You can buy some over-the-counter painkillers that can help to relieve your pain. Anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen could prove to be helpful at reducing inflammation and relieving pain.
When to See a Doctor
If your injury does not get better within a few days, please speak to your doctor. Severe cases of hamstring injury might result in surgery. If you need surgery, you will also need to rest your hamstring for a few months and have physical therapy.
Hamstring injuries can be very painful. However, with the right treatment, recovery is possible.