Hamstring injuries refer to the tendons or muscles in the back of the thigh. There are three muscles that reach between the bottom of the buttocks and the back of the knee joint. These muscles are used for power and stabilisation during many different movements involving hinging and stretching at the hips, or squats/lunges/bending knees. In tennis, these muscles are used when bending to hit a low ball or extending up to hit high ones. 

If you’ve pulled a hamstring during a tennis game, you’ll usually feel it immediately in the back of the thigh. The muscle may become tight and tender and may bruise if more severe. Causes can include fast movements such as jumps or leaps, particularly if you haven’t warmed up properly before playing. Other contributing factors could be dehydration, not wearing the correct footwear, muscle weakness or prior injury. 

Treatment follows a similar line to other injuries we’ve discussed….

Protection – stop playing for a few days to let the pain settle. 

Elevate the injury as often as possible 

Avoid anti-inflammatories as these can disrupt the healing process 

Compress the injury using a bandage or tape

Education- your body knows best, so avoid unnecessary investigations at this point and let the natural healing process happen. 

If there is more significant injury, a physiotherapist can help to assess the injury and provide a rehab plan for you to gradually get back into tennis. 

Preventing hamstring injury can be done by stretching and warming up muscles before playing. As said before, raising your heart rate before you play can help increase the blood flow to all your muscles – combined with holding your stretches for 30 seconds, this is a great way to prepare your muscles for sport. Also, ensuring you are hydrated and have had healthy nutrition is also important to prevent muscle cramping. Lastly, sufficient rest is so important for injury prevention.