Hamstrings

[Tricky Trevor]

What is it with hamstrings these days?
Back in time players would pull a hammy and be out for 6 weeks. Now it's an operation and long recovery. Havertz out for rest of season after op. Just reported Aaron Hickey at Brentford back in training after 18 months out.

[Goody1975]

Nothing has changed, it depends on the severity of the pull/tear.

Most hamstring injuries are grade 1, 2 or 3

A grade 3 tear is a bad one and can see the muscle coming away from the bone, players had these injuries 20 or 30 years ago but everybody hears about things these days, especially at the top clubs.

[RVclaret]

I read this article yesterday which delved into Spurs’ injury crisis (56% of them hamstrings) and whether the manager is partly to blame due to 1. Overloading 2. Playing style.

https://theanalyst.com/2025/02/spurs-in ... ning-stats

[Big Vinny K]

What is it with hamstrings these days?
Back in time players would pull a hammy and be out for 6 weeks. Now it's an operation and long recovery. Havertz out for rest of season after op. Just reported Aaron Hickey at Brentford back in training after 18 months out.

Done mine a few times in last ten years. First time it happened it was a massive tear and took 12 weeks plus of physio. All the ones since have been not as serious but once you have a big tear you are basically more susceptible to future ones.

The physio who looked after me told me that when she was getting trained they used to use a scan of a very famous England centre forward (who I better not name) as an example of an extreme hamstring tear and she said that it was so bad that they knew that it would never fully heal / recover. The player did carry on playing at a high level for a few years but he had many many more hamstring injuries. Surprising he got the moves he did really as he played for some of the biggest clubs in the world and it would have always shown on the medical. Guess the clubs bought him on the knowledge that he would be out injured a lot though I am sure one of the clubs that gave him a 4 year contract would not have expected him to miss as many games as he ended up doing.

[NottsClaret]

Going to be more and more. It's alright mocking players for complaining about playing 3 games in a week, as if it's somehow related to what they earn. But they're going to get injured, it's inevitable. Rodri spoke about it, then did his ACL about 2 weeks later. Arteta said Havertz will have to play every minute of every game, as he's their only striker. He doesn't even make the next match.

As long as the TV companies and the clubs get the cash for fullfilling fixtures, we'll have to get used to watching 2nd XIs and reserves playing the big games.

[Rowls]

Hamstrings are what they were, eh?

Other people have posted about levels of severity. Do we now have the ability to visualise and diagnose muscles strains / tears with scanners?

Novak Djokavic recently posted a scan of some kind of injury.

The old cure for a hammy was just to rest until you felt better. However, "it feels OK" isn't exactly the same as knowing it should be good to run. If you "feel fine" and come back too soon there's a big risk of re-injuring yourself. Plenty of us will have experienced this playing pub football.

Maybe this is a factor in explaining why footballers are perhaps typically out longer with strains these days?

[CharlieinNewMexico]

What’s the difference between pinging a hammy, pulling a hamstring and a torn hamstring

[bumba]

Years ago clubs trained for 1-2 hours a day and the tempo of matches was slightly slower, now it's quicker but teams can be training twice a day so I'd say it comes down to too much training and more intensity without correct rest

[Steve1956]

Today's footballers are made of chocolate...think that might be a contributing factor.

[CharlieinNewMexico]

Maybe this is a factor in explaining why footballers are perhaps typically out longer with strains these days?

Which then begs the question: if your sports science department can tell you when someone’s muscles are overloaded and liable to break down, are the coaches ignoring this just for their own benefits?

[Big Vinny K]

What’s the difference between pinging a hammy, pulling a hamstring and a torn hamstring

When it happens it’s a lot more painful if it’s a tear. I felt like I had been shot and had to be carried off !!

But generally it’s like most muscles - a tear will be effectively a rip in the muscle and tears can be minor or major or anywhere in between. They are visible on the scans. The recovery period is longer and they need treatment rather than just rest.

I’ve “felt” my hamstring before and that was like a small muscle pull - you know when you have done it once that it is best at that point to not carry on playing or running as there’s a much bigger chance of making it worse and tearing it. If you did try and run you would be able to feel it pulling - bit like cramp.

With all levels of hamstring injuries now you can get physio to speed up the recovery and they can tell you when it’s healed and how to best start training or playing again or test it out etc

Definitely an age / general wear and tear thing too. I’d never had one in 30 years of playing and then had a few in last 10 years and I know lads similar to my age who have only just started getting them in last few years. And the other thing is once you have had a bad hamstring injury you tend to pick up calf injuries more too…..or I do anyway !!!

[Big Vinny K]

Which then begs the question: if your sports science department can tell you when someone’s muscles are overloaded and liable to break down, are the coaches ignoring this just for their own benefits?

Don’t think they are. If you look at the way someone like Nathan Tella was managed for example for the first months with us he was regularly hooked after 60 minutes. That must have been a prevention type thing based on his medical data and predicting what might happen if he played too much.

Despite the improvements in technology it’s not an exact science though. Muscle tears and pulls are very hard to detect and you cannot test for every scenario - like a player over stretching or sprinting a lot more or harder than usual etc

Plus there will be lots of occasions where we now we find out where the data around overloading a player will be pretty border line and the club decide to take a risk. Many times the player gets through it but others they pick up an injury.

[DCWat]

I did mine umpteen years ago. Went to hospital with it but assume it must have been a grade one (or perhaps two?) as they sent me home hobbling and told me to rest up.

A serious one must be agony - I had a bruise as wide as my leg, from my arse to the back of my knee that lasted for weeks.

[Tricky Trevor]

When Ryan Giggs was doing his regularly he waz advised to do ballet exercises. I can't remember him suffering another.

[RMutt]

When Ryan Giggs was doing his regularly he waz advised to do ballet exercises. I can't remember him suffering another.

Wasn’t it because his brother found out?

[Burnley1989]

Done mine a few times in last ten years. First time it happened it was a massive tear and took 12 weeks plus of physio. All the ones since have been not as serious but once you have a big tear you are basically more susceptible to future ones.

The physio who looked after me told me that when she was getting trained they used to use a scan of a very famous England centre forward (who I better not name) as an example of an extreme hamstring tear and she said that it was so bad that they knew that it would never fully heal / recover. The player did carry on playing at a high level for a few years but he had many many more hamstring injuries. Surprising he got the moves he did really as he played for some of the biggest clubs in the world and it would have always shown on the medical. Guess the clubs bought him on the knowledge that he would be out injured a lot though I am sure one of the clubs that gave him a 4 year contract would not have expected him to miss as many games as he ended up doing.

It would be an easy quiz question based on that detail

Never done mine but had a few niggles, I'm not explosive enough to do serious damage, and in my older years I stretch like nobodies business to prevent it

[Big Vinny K]

When Ryan Giggs was doing his regularly he waz advised to do ballet exercises. I can't remember him suffering another.

Think it was yoga that Giggs started doing from around the age of 25….he puts how long he lasted playing and lack of injuries down to his yoga.

[Big Vinny K]

It would be an easy quiz question based on that detail

Never done mine but had a few niggles, I'm not explosive enough to do serious damage, and in my older years I stretch like nobodies business to prevent it

Aye - but I still never named him.

After my first hamstring injury which was big tear one of the things I was told to do aswell as stretching was use one of the polystyrene rollers….for rolling the backs of your legs on. Done these religiously ever since before playing.

Getting old is a bit sh-ite ain’t it ?!!!

[Burnley1989]

Aye - but I still never named him.

After my first hamstring injury which was big tear one of the things I was told to do aswell as stretching was use one of the polystyrene rollers….for rolling the backs of your legs on. Done these religiously ever since before playing.

Getting old is a bit sh-ite ain’t it ?!!!

It's horrendous and I do wonder if I'd bothered stretching before and after from 18-34 if I'd have had half my injuries.
My foam roller is my best mate these days

[RMutt]

It's horrendous and I do wonder if I'd bothered stretching before and after from 18-34 if I'd have had half my injuries.
My foam roller is my best mate these days

A lot of muscle injuries are well into games when you would assume players are pretty warmed up so I wonder if it would make much difference. It has to be dynamic warming up too, not the sort you often see happening before, particularly amateur, sporting events.
I know one big study, with I think soldiers, suggested stretching made little difference with regard to injury.
Getting oxygen flowing around your body and your heart rate up whilst stretching actively was better.

[scamander]

Many soft tissue injuries are the result of fatigue, this can add up over a season or any period of time. It's what managers and coaches refer to when they say about resting players.

Sometimes this is misinterpreted and people think it's fatigued as in being tired (cue the irrelevant comparissons). Football players are working a very particular set of muscles continually, these will fatigue over time and then you have injury. Of course some come out of nowhere but many clubs will be tracking how much players are working and flag those who might be in a danger zone in terms of something likely going.

Hamstring injuries can be very consequential. Celtic fans were pointing out that Ange's high line heightened this type of injury and actually warned Spurs to expect players to suffer these more.

[Burnley1989]

Many soft tissue injuries are the result of fatigue, this can add up over a season or any period of time. It's what managers and coaches refer to when they say about resting players.

Sometimes this is misinterpreted and people think it's fatigued as in being tired (cue the irrelevant comparissons). Football players are working a very particular set of muscles continually, these will fatigue over time and then you have injury. Of course some come out of nowhere but many clubs will be tracking how much players are working and flag those who might be in a danger zone in terms of something likely going.

Hamstring injuries can be very consequential. Celtic fans were pointing out that Ange's high line heightened this type of injury and actually warned Spurs to expect players to suffer these more.

A lot of muscle injuries are well into games when you would assume players are pretty warmed up so I wonder if it would make much difference. It has to be dynamic warming up too, not the sort you often see happening before, particularly amateur, sporting events.
I know one big study, with I think soldiers, suggested stretching made little difference with regard to injury.
Getting oxygen flowing around your body and your heart rate up whilst stretching actively was better.

Agree with you both there

[Rowls]

Which then begs the question: if your sports science department can tell you when someone’s muscles are overloaded and liable to break down, are the coaches ignoring this just for their own benefits?

I'm not sure they can predict injuries, just visualise them.

Edit. Not sure that's what you meant

[Longsider]

Snapped mine running down the beach on the Gower. Could hardly walk. Went to the ice cream van on the beach and got him to scrape together a big compress of ice out of the fridge. Wrapped it up Drove home , rested, psycho. Played 5 aside six weeks later and was as sh1t as I was before.

[quoonbeatz]

Had a decent selection of injuries over the years including breaks, dislocation and ligament tears, some at the same time but for immediate acute pain, none beat the hamstring tear. As others have said, it’s what getting shot must feel like. Bruising from calf to arse. Horrible.

Totally came out of nowhere as well but I can tell when they’re on the verge of pinging now. Warming up with dynamic stretching before playing is key, don’t just cold stretch. Obvs look like a serious ponce turning up for 5 a side ten mins early for a warm up but it’s either that or weeks out.

[jdrobbo]

I would be very interested to see a comparison between the number of hamstring Injuries in the Premier League V the number of hamstring injuries in the football league.

We need hamstrings to protect us in quick movements and sprint situations. They are not good when our bodies go from warm to cold over short periods of time.

I would not be surprised that with the number of VAR checks taking place, lasting 3 to 5 minutes in some cases, that players are getting cold and then having to sprint quickly not long after, hamstring injuries occur. I could be totally wrong, but I think this carries some weight.

I think a VAR check should last a maximum of 90 seconds. If you can’t prove something conclusively, then you go with the onfield decision.

[scamander]

I would be very interested to see a comparison between the number of hamstring Injuries in the Premier League V the number of hamstring injuries in the football league.

We need hamstrings to protect us in quick movements and sprint situations. They are not good when our bodies go from warm to cold over short periods of time.

I would not be surprised that with the number of VAR checks taking place, lasting 3 to 5 minutes in some cases, that players are getting cold and then having to sprint quickly not long after, hamstring injuries occur. I could be totally wrong, but I think this carries some weight.

I think a VAR check should last a maximum of 90 seconds. If you can’t prove something conclusively, then you go with the onfield decision.

What is more dangerous is when play continues when it might be offside, usually sprinting is involved. I seem to remember someone pullling up in one of these where it was clearly offside but play was allowed to continue.