What is a pulled hamstring?
• Before we discuss a pulled hamstring, we first need to discuss what the hamstring is. The hamstring is a group of three muscles located on the back of the upper leg. The hamstring muscles are the semitendinosis, semimembrinosis and biceps femoris muscles. These muscles run from the pelvis to the tibia bone (or shin bone). What do the Hamstring muscles do? • These muscles are used to flex the leg at the knee. What happens with a pulled hamstring? • A pulled hamstring occurs when the muscle fibers are stretched to far and begin to rip. Other terms used for the pulled hamstring are hamstring strain and hamstring pull. The hamstrings muscle group is usually less strong than the quadriceps muscle group (a group of 4 muscles on the front of the leg -the thigh). There is research currently being done to find out if in an improper hamstring to quadricep ratio is one cause of an ACL tear. How do I know I pulled my hamstring? • The hamstring pull has a few tell tale symptoms. The degree or gra
