What To Do After Pulling Your Hamstring During Soccer
So you’re pretty sure that you just pulled your hamstring muscle, right?
You felt a sudden ache or sharp pain in the back of your thigh when you were running and the pain hasn’t gone away. It hurts when you bend your knee, walk (especially uphill), and kick the soccer ball.
And now, you aren’t sure what to do or where to start on your recovery. That’s exactly where I enter the chat.
I’m a physical therapist who specializes in treating injured athletes and getting them back on the field ASAP. I’ve seen a fair number of pulled hamstrings in my day working with soccer players. Today I’m sharing a few things you can do to jumpstart your recovery and make a quicker comeback after a pulled hamstring and know what to do after pulling your hamstring during soccer.
If it happens during the game or practice, don’t just “push through the pain” - ADAPT!
Gently use a massage gun, foam roller, or stick roller over the area - maybe through a towel to reduce intensity
Start with a few basic exercises to help facilitate healing
See a sports physical therapist to get a custom treatment and hands-on assistance
Don’t Be a Hero
If you feel a sudden twinge or sharp pain in the back of your thigh during the game that just hurts every time you squat, run, step, etc - please don’t play through it. The kind of pain that is there every time you move and you notice it every step you take. Yeah, that’s your body saying “HEY NOW” to get your attention. So listen to it.
Continuing on, trying to push through the pain not only negatively impacts your performance, but it also puts you at risk for doing further damage to an already strained tissue, which means prolonged healing. If you listen to your body and take a breather, you avoid doing serious damage to the area. In this case, you get a chance to be proactive - walk around, move, test it out, and make sure everything is alright. If the game allows substitutions, then you can even return to play. But if you push it to the point of experiencing pain with every step you take (even walking), then your recovery might take a little longer and be more extensive.
Pay attention to any areas, especially the hamstrings, that are a little sore after practice or games. That might be your warning side to incorporate some additional strengthening exercises into your routine.
Grab a Massage Device
Listen (well, read) closely here! The key is to do some gentle massage. I don’t want you going to town here with a deep tissue massage and causing a lot of irritation.
But you can use massage devices, including a massage gun, foam roller, or stick roller on your hamstrings immediately after the injury to kick your recovery into gear. Just be sure there isn’t significant bruising or swelling in the hamstring area first, which may indicate a more serious problem.
The purpose is to help decrease muscle tension, increase circulation, and decrease pain. Set a timer and work on that hamstring for about two minutes.
Sometimes though, using these devices at their usual intensity can feel too much on a freshly pulled muscle. In that case, just run the roller or massage gun really lightly over the surface of the skin or put a towel in between your hamstring and the device to make it tolerable.
Start with These Exercises
Believe it or not, complete rest isn’t necessarily the best idea for a pulled hamstring (which doesn’t mean to just pretend it never happened, either). We’ve all heard the old “just take two weeks off and you’ll be fine” words of wisdom, but that doesn’t necessarily yield the best results. It’s important to dial back the intensity and maybe cut out certain movements for a short while to allow for tissue healing.
Focus on the movements that you can do to increase circulation, gradually load the muscles and tendons, and retrain muscle activation patterns during movement. Doing these exercises at a low intensity are key to a quicker recovery after a pulled hamstring.
Make sure that you only move through a pain-free range of motion and aim to under-do it on the number of sets and reps of each exercise (because you can always increase it next time). If you have a severe strain or these exercises cause more pain, then stop. Gentle movement and gentle stretching are key.
Here are a few exercises that you can start immediately after you pull your hamstring while playing soccer:
Heel slides
Start laying down with legs out straight.
Gently slide your heel towards your buttocks as far as you can without increased pain.
Then slide it back down to the start.
Repeat 10-15 times. Do 1-3 sets.
The key is to keep your heel in contact with the floor (or bed) during the entire movement
Sit to stands
Start standing with feet hip width apart and a standard height chair behind you.
Gently lower down to sit in the chair (or just tap your buttocks to the chair seat).
Push down through the feet and legs to return to full standing.
Repeat 10 times. Do 1-3 sets.
Single leg standing balance with forward and backward kicking
Balance by standing on the injured leg with a slight bend in the knee.
Focus on standing tall, lifting the crown of your head toward the ceiling, and keeping hips level
Kick the opposite leg forward (in front of your body) and backwards (behind the body), while allowing your torso to hinge slightly during the movement. Make sure to keep your balance.
Repeat 10 times each direction. Then switch legs. Repeat for 2-3 sets on each side.
See a Sports Physical Therapist
Now, I’d recommend seeing a sports physical therapist (PT) and starting physical therapy sooner rather than later because although everything mentioned above gives you a great places to start, nothing is better than getting a recovery plan that’s tailored to your individual needs.
Plus, the sooner you start, the sooner you can recover (ie let's decrease that recovery time for your hamstring injury!)
Muscle strains and ligament sprains may be similar in a lot of ways, but there’s always a few things that differ from athlete to athlete. And a sports PT can get you started on the best plan for you.
These professionals are trained to assess your movement, take into account how you got injured, look at the injury to observe any swelling or bruising, check your strength and mobility, and then come up with the best plan for recovery. They can also tell you if they think it’s a more serious injury that would benefit from a consultation with an orthopedic surgeon/specialist.
Seeing a sports physical therapist as soon as possible after your injury can get you on track for the most optimal tissue healing. They can direct you with any modalities, exercises, and provide manual therapy treatment from the get-go.
Seeing a sports PT also provides a little peace of mind and reassurance that you’re doing everything possible for the best recovery.
If you’re local to the Tri-Cities area, my clinic is in Kennewick and I’d be happy to work with you on your hamstring recovery. Schedule your free discovery visit here.
In Summary:
So, all of that to say, if you pull your hamstring during soccer, there are lot of things you can do! Don’t just play through the pain, listen to your body. Use your massage gun or foam roller to jumpstart tissue recovery by reducing tension. Then retrain the muscles with exercises designed to improve activation patterns, reduce weakness, and decrease pain. And of course, see a sports physical therapist for a customized treatment plan that is designed for you and your injury. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach here.
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