For all of you athletes out there, this is a topic that I have a little more personal experience with, tearing both hamstrings and rehabilitating one the right way and the other the wrong way.  One I did in high school playing baseball and the other playing flag football in graduate school.  In high school, I tore my right  hamstring stealing second base on a cold day and felt the “pop.”  Over the next two weeks I spent the time to stretch, listened to the doctor, slowly kept moving it, and was back at full form in 3 weeks.  I didn’t know any better so I just listened to what the professionals said.   In graduate school (mind you, for an education in PHYSICAL THERAPY) I tore the left hamstring after a day of heavy leg squatting, no stretching, and sprinting up and down a football field.  Now, as I mentioned before I knew how to rehab a hamstring and more so because it was not MY JOB but what did I do instead:  I DID NOT LISTEN TO SOUND RATIONAL ADVICE!!!  I didn’t spend the time to stretch, ice, and avoid painful provoking activities in the first couple of weeks because I was “busy” or felt as an “expert” I had a handle on it.  Long story short, it took some 4 MONTHS before it stopped hurting all together.

Here is the take home: If you know anything about sports, treating injuries, or just anatomy in general this does not make you the expert!  Take it from someone who has been on both sides of the fence please take the time to heal, make intelligent choices, and listen to the professionals.