Is Your Hamstring "Strain" Really a Tear? Find Out in Our Urgent Care Clinic
Aug 01, 2025
Walking, running, and standing rely on a number of different functions of the lower body; a combination of joints, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and bones that play a part in every action. The back leg muscles play a vital role in this, and the three muscles that make up the hamstrings are among the most important, as they are connected to your thighs, hips, and knees.
Injuries in this part of the leg occur frequently, especially among athletes, and are often referred to as a pulled hamstring. However, if these muscles are damaged, is it merely a strain of the muscles, or are you dealing with a tear?
If it’s a tear, how does it get treated? Let’s explore these issues and demonstrate how our urgent care facility can effectively treat this injury.
Dr. Joseph Daniels and the Southwest Orthopedic Associates team dedicate themselves to alleviating pain in the Fort Worth, Texas community, repairing damage to various parts of the body, including the hamstrings.
The pulling or straining of the hamstring muscles often comes with swelling, bruising, sudden sharp pains, and possibly a popping sensation. They’re highly common in athletes playing games with lots of sudden starts and stops, such as soccer, tennis, football, and basketball. In these activities, the chances of stretching or overloading the hamstrings are very high.
Participating in these sports increases your risk of injury. Still, several other factors also contribute, including a history of injuries in these muscles, tired or weak hamstrings, muscle imbalance, and aging.
Damage to this muscle group varies in severity, and to assess it, we use a grading scale ranging from one to three:
Many symptoms of both strains and tears are similar, but the more severe the damage, the more painful and limiting the symptoms will be. With greater damage, you can also expect other more severe symptoms, such as pain when sitting down, difficulty moving your leg, and muscle stiffness.
Our urgent care facility manages a wide range of problems that require immediate attention, including fractures, dislocations, and significant soft tissue damage, such as those associated with muscle strains. The process begins with an orthopedic examination to assess the extent of damage to the affected muscles and gather data on mobility, strength, and reflexes.
To help with this injury, a combination of physical therapy, regenerative medicine, ice or heat therapy, a brace, cast, or splint, and modifying activities helps alleviate symptoms while the muscles heal. In cases of complete tears, surgical intervention with stitches helps keep the muscles in place during recovery.
Hamstring damage can significantly limit most upright activities, so whether you have a strain or tear in this area, make an appointment with Dr. Daniels and the Southwest Orthopedic Associates team today to recover and walk forward.