Lengthening Rehabilitation Protocol for Acute Hamstring Injury: A Case Validation Study

Key Points:

· Lengthening exercises improve pain and stiffness of lower extremity muscle injury

· Quick return to basketball activity without reinjury with implemented protocol

· Strong patient reported outcomes for pain, ADL, tightness, and function

Key Words:

· Muscle strain

· Basketball

· Posterior leg

· Return to activity

ABSTRACT

A 15-year-old female basketball player suffered a grade 1 hamstring strain during sprint conditioning at practice. This report is looking at the effectiveness of a lengthening-based rehabilitation program that is comprised of three exercises to be done twice a day to every other day. The outcomes are time to full participation with no limitations and patient reported function compared to typical timelines for the same injury at our high school. This protocol is feasible and practical in any setting, and especially the high school setting, due to it being comprised of only three exercises that require little to no equipment and can be done by the patient with little to no supervision after proper instruction.