1. Least Effective Exercises Slideshow
2. Dehydration Slideshow
3. First Aid Care and Pain Relief for Minor Injuries

Medical Author:

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM

Dr. Ben Wedro practices emergency medicine at Gundersen Clinic, a regional trauma center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His background includes undergraduate and medical studies at the University of Alberta, a Family Practice internship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

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Medical Editor:

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

William C. Shiel Jr., MD, FACP, FACR

Dr. Shiel received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors from the University of Notre Dame. There he was involved in research in radiation biology and received the Huisking Scholarship. After graduating from St. Louis University School of Medicine, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Rheumatology fellowship at the University of California, Irvine. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology.

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While all injuries cannot be prevented, pulled hamstrings are often due to tight muscles and poor flexibility. Routine stretching to promote flexibility should be a daily consideration to minimize muscle injuries. Whether it is a home fitness program, neighborhood yoga classes, or Pilates at the gym, increasing flexibility, balance, and muscle tone will help prevent not only pulled hamstrings but also many other bone, joint, and muscles injuries.

Muscles that are warm and stretched are less inclined to tear. Prior to exercise or manual labor, which can include gardening, shoveling snow, and other household chores, it is important that the leg and back muscles be stretched and flexible to prevent pulled hamstrings. Since the hamstring muscles span the hip and knee, they can be damaged if the back muscles are too tight to allow controlled proper movement.

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