torn hamstring?

hey everyone

10 days ago during basketball practice i was running really hard then suddenly i just felt a crack in my right hamstring and felt like i tore it, it was some pretty damn excruciating pain, i iced it and heated it and everything. i was limping for about 3 days then some of the pain started disappearing, i went to the doctor after the 3rd day and he just said to rest it and prescribed me apo-naproxen pills, the pain is going away and i do feel that i'm getting better, but i desperately want to make a full recovery and get it to 100% for this basketball season and am willing to do what ever i have to, to speed up the recovery.

so the only time right now i really feel pain is when i stretch or massage it, and another thing is that when i flex my hamstrings, my left hamstring is very hard when i flex it and my right hamstring is very squishy when i flex it, as if i lost a whole lot of muscle in my right hamstring. i can also feel the loss of muscle in my right hamstring when i walk

so is there anything i can do simultaneously to gain back that lost muscle while getting rid of that soreness when i stretch or massage it

any help or advice is very much appreciated

thanks

Hi there,

If you want to streamline your rehabilitation and get best results then get a referral for physio. You can self manage however having a qualified person guiding your rehab and utilising their tools (hands) to help you will be beneficial.
If you are physiophobic or perhaps not wanting to pay for it then heres some advice.
After tearing a hamstring you should be waiting quite a while before actively working the hamstring, you could damage it if you flex it too hard. You may just have a strain however in which case you can start active rehab which should comprise stretching and strengthening of the hamstring. I do suggest you go to a physio because I can't tell you wether it was torn or sprained and as there are 3 hamstring muscles we can be more specific to the one which has actually been injured if we know which one.
Your current level of rapid recovery would indicate it isn't torn.
So for a sprain I'd be doing regular hamstring stretches (3x a day) and some gentle hamstring exercises (prone curls with light weights) slowly progressing to harder strengthening such as the nordic hamstring exercise (shown to help reduce the chance of further sprains)

Heres hoping you visit a physio to get it checked out - they can advise on specific exercises and also do massage as well as utilise electromodalities (which may or may not do anything ;P)

Good luck