What to expect from sports physiotherapy for a hamstring strain

Your physiotherapist may ask how the injury happened and assess tenderness, hip and knee movement, walking, strength and pain during controlled tasks. Rehabilitation commonly starts with comfortable loading and progresses to bridge variations, resisted knee work, single-leg exercises and lengthened hamstring strengthening. Running is reintroduced in stages, followed by acceleration, deceleration and sport-specific actions. The programme may also examine trunk and pelvic control because these affect how force reaches the back of the thigh.

Perform the home exercises as prescribed and report symptoms that linger or alter your running pattern. Do not stretch aggressively or sprint to check whether the hamstring is ready. Maintain general fitness with options agreed with your clinician, and warm up before later-stage drills. A return plan should consider your position, training surface, workload and the high-speed actions your sport requires.

Seek review if bruising spreads, pain or weakness worsens, walking remains difficult, or symptoms return each time running resumes. Urgent assessment is needed for severe sudden pain with a clear loss of function, marked swelling, new numbness, or calf swelling with breathlessness or chest pain. Those signs should not be managed by increasing or modifying exercises without medical advice.

Ask whether the injury appears mild or extensive, when running can restart, which strength tests matter for your sport, and how training load should be rebuilt after the first pain-free sessions.