The hamstrings are a group of three muscles that run along the back of one’s thigh. These muscles strengthen the legs to perform tasks such as sprinting, kicking, sliding, jumping, climbing, and others. Hamstring injuries usually happen when a person strains or pulls one of their hamstring muscles while performing any difficult physical activity continually. Sustaining and living with such an injury can be a painful experience. Let’s understand some key details of hamstring injuries.

Symptoms
Physicians can detect hamstring injuries in people based on the following typical indicators:

• Popping sound in the leg
  Hamstring injuries are graded according to their levels of severity. Severe hamstring tears, classified as grade-3 injuries, tend to cause a “popping” sound and sensation in and around the thigh muscles. Even before an official diagnosis, this sound is often a giveaway that the hamstrings are damaged. In grade-3 injuries, the tendon tears away completely from the bone, and at times, even pulls away some portions of the bone with it.
• Sharp pain in the back of the thigh
  The nerves in the back of the thigh receive and transmit sharp pain impulses when the hamstrings are damaged. Therefore, such injuries are accompanied by excruciating pain in the back of one’s thigh. In fact, even the recovery phase from such injuries involves varying degrees of pain in the thighs and other areas of the leg. Hamstring injuries also bring about inflammation in the nearby regions, which directly results in swelling of the thighs and joints in the affected areas.
• Tenderness in thighs
  Mild hamstring injuries cause sudden pain and tenderness in the back of one’s thigh. This means that the injured area of the leg will be extremely sensitive to touch. If one touches the affected area, it can further aggravate the pain.

Common causes
Various scenarios can lead to nasty hamstring injuries. Some such common causes are:

• Sporting collisions or strains
  Sports that involve running, sprinting, or tackling are the most common reason for sustaining a damaged hamstring. Other similar activities, such as stretching and dancing are also equally capable of causing this injury.
• Previous hamstring injuries
  Once someone injures their hamstring, the sensitivity remains even after recovery. So, people who have had their hamstring damaged in the past are likely to experience a similar injury again. This is especially true when people indulge in sporting or other physical activities before their muscles have fully healed from the earlier damage.
• Muscle imbalance
  Many healthcare professionals and researchers believe that muscle imbalance leads to hamstring injuries. For example, if the quadricep muscles along the front of one’s thighs are bigger, more developed, and stronger, then a hamstring injury is incredibly likely to occur sometime in the future. This is why, fitness experts advise clients to work out in a balanced way so that the various parts of one’s legs undergo exercises and grow and develop naturally and simultaneously.

Treatment options and recovery
Hamstring injuries, like other injuries, depend on how the damaged muscles recover over a period. Some of the measures for quick recovery are bed-resting, putting ice on the affected area, applying compression to the injuries, and placing the injured leg on an elevation for a certain period. Typically, with proper treatment measures, one can recover within a few weeks.