Hamstring Strain 4 weeks Post Injury

Dear Ask The Doctor: Hello Doctor I am a 38 year old female who was diagnosed with a hamstring strain. It is 4 weeks now and the pain has hardly subsided. I was on three weeks leave from work and I rested a lot and did physiotherapy. I came back to work this week but things have gotten worse. During the past week and a half I have been doing physiotherapy from monday to saturday. Is that too much physio? The therapist uses the TENS machine and heat treatment and massage theraphy and light leg exercises at every session. Is that too much. I can walk but slowly but sitting is painful and moving from a sitting to a standing position and vice versa is also painful. Can you shed some light on my injury?

Dear Rhonda: Any muscle strain or muscle pull or even a muscle tear implies damage to a muscle or its attaching tendons. The time of healing varies from patient to patient and also depends on the severity of the injury.

The conservative treatment consists of: initially, protection, rest, ice, compression, and elevation (known as the PRICE formula) can help the affected muscle and also maintaining the strained muscle in a stretched position. Heat can be applied when the swelling has lessened, anti-inflammatory drugs (i.e.: “Aleve”), rest the strained muscle and avoid the activities that caused the strain and other activities that are painful. A Physical Therapy program for 4-6 weeks must be followed and practice at home the stretching exercises above all. The healing time and conditions for each patient are different.  If you do not see improvemnt after 2 more weeks of physiotherpay and home exercises, please have it reacessed.