Conservative management of proximal hamstring avulsion: A clinical study

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Sports Medicine
• Rehabilitation

Background:

• Management of proximal hamstring tears (PHT) lacks consensus.
• Individualized treatment regimens for PHT are debated.
• Efficacy of conservative PHT management requires evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of conservative management for partial and complete proximal hamstring tears.
• To assess clinical outcomes, patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), imaging, and isokinetic muscle strength following conservative PHT treatment.

Main Methods:

• Observational study following STROBE guidelines.
• Retrieved data from medical databases (June 2018).
• Evaluated clinical examination, PROMs, imaging, and isokinetic strength at baseline and follow-up.

Main Results:

• 31 patients with PHT were included.
• Good clinical outcomes observed, with mean VAS of 2.3 and mean LEFS score of 50.9.
• MRI showed tendon healing in partial tears; 45% of complete tears had persistent defects. Isokinetic strength recovery was 81.5-83.2% of the uninjured side.

Conclusions:

• Conservative therapy for proximal hamstring tears is associated with favorable clinical outcomes.
• High-quality studies are necessary to establish optimal therapeutic algorithms.
• Further research should compare conservative management advantages against surgical approaches for PHT.