Hamstring Strains--Where Do They Occur‪?‬

ABSTRACT Physiotherapists concerned with the treatment of hamstring strains require an understanding of the location of injury. Similarly knowledge of the anatomy of the injury site is necessary for the development of accurate models of injury mechanism. In order to describe the current state of evidence regarding specific sites of hamstring strain injury, a narrative review of the literature was undertaken. Although few firm conclusions can be drawn from the nine included studies it seems likely that the (long head of) biceps femoris is the most commonly strained hamstring muscle. Injury may be isolated to a single muscle but may also occur in muscles simultaneously, most typically the biceps femoris long head and semitendinosus. As generally held it appears that hamstring strain injuries involve a musculotendinous junction. However any further information regarding the specific sites of injury is difficult to interpret, the main reason being that the authors fail to consider the underlying morphology of the muscles. A detailed knowledge of precise sites of hamstring strain injury is essential to aid in the development of accurate clinical and biomechanical models, and fundamental to this is an appreciation of the anatomy of the muscles in question.