Intramuscular Tendon Tears of the Hamstrings

Pollock et al just published a brilliant piece of research in British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) highlighting that injuries to the intramuscular tendon result in a much slower return to full training in British Athletics athletes.

Those injuries classified via MRI as 2C or 3C (as per BAMIC injury classification) resulted in a median return to full training of 35 days and 51.5 days respectively.

In contrast, tears in myofascial tissue or at the musculotendinous junction (MTJ) resulted in a much quicker return to full training ranging from a median of 12-19 days (depending on severity of these subtypes).

The challenge now is for us clinicians who don't have the luxury of routinely imaging hamstring strains is to identify those that are more likely to suffering from a intramuscular tendon tear.

If you're interested, Dr Peter Brukner walks you through his clinical assessment of the hamstring that may give you clues to the severity of the strain you're assessing during Learn.Physio Hamstring Masterclass.

He also shows how to differentiate between true hamstring pathology and referred pain.

Take the online Masterclass today by clicking on the link here