Tearing your hamstring is quite painful, whether you do it playing football, kicking a soccer ball, or just walking down some stairs. After the tear, your focus needs to be on recovery. But what, exactly, does that entail? Take a look.

Ice Therapy

Hamstring tears cause a lot of swelling, and that swelling can make it hard for blood to reach the damaged tissues and deliver the chemicals necessary for them to heal. Ice therapy is a safe and easy way to bring the swelling down. All you need to do is hold an ice pack against the injured area for about 20 minutes, three or four times per day. Put a thin towel or cloth between your leg and the ice pack to prevent damage to the skin. 

Compression Sleeve

Putting a compression sleeve over your upper leg can help keep the swelling down and also add a little support to ease your pain. Compression sleeves need to be sized properly in order to do their job. Either have your doctor measure your leg and recommend the right size or read labels very carefully while buying your own at a local pharmacy. In most cases, you should wear the compression sleeve all day but remove it at night, but your doctor may recommend a different approach, depending on your health history and the severity of the tear.

See a Chiropractor

Seeing a chiropractor for a hamstring tear may sound strange at first, but actually, it can be very helpful. A chiropractor can adjust your pelvis to make sure the injured side of your body is not carrying any more weight than it should. Hobbling around with a torn hamstring for days or weeks can also put your lower back out of alignment, and a chiropractor can adjust the back to keep you from developing back pain — which you really don't need on top of your leg pain.

Take NSAIDs

In most cases, your doctor will recommend taking NSAID pain relievers as your hamstring heals. This will not only keep you comfortable but will also help fight that dreaded inflammation. Ibuprofen works well but needs to be taken every 4-6 hours. Many patients opt to take naproxen since it only needs to be taken every 8-12 hours.

Recovering from a torn hamstring is no walk in the park, but if you follow the advice above, you should be back on your feet within a few weeks.

To learn more, contact a resource that helps with sports recovery.