Non-Operative — Hamstring Injury — Non-Operative

Massachusetts General Hospital · MGH Sports Medicine

Weight-Bearing

WBAT throughout unless otherwise directed; no crutch requirement stated

Key Restrictions

Do NOT stretch hamstring Phase I; nerve gliding (sciatic neural flossing) if neural tension; no passive hamstring stretching until Phase II; avoid positions lengthening hamstring during upper body/core training Phase I; jog/walk may begin at wk 6 if criteria met

Timeline & Phases

5 phases: Phase I (0-2 wks, quad/glute sets, UBE, hip/knee AAROM, no hamstring stretching), Phase II (2-4 wks, gentle pain-free HS stretch supine, low DL bridge, bike), Phase III (4-8 wks, bridge progressions, HS curls antigravity, step ups at wk 6; jog/walk at wk 6 if criteria met), Phase IV (8-12 wks, eccentric HS — ball rollout, deadlifts, bridge on ball; continuous then interval jogging), Phase V (12+ wks, Nordic HS, kettle bell, sprint progressions, plyometrics, agility ladder, 40 yd sprints at 90%)

Notes

Revised 12/2021; DO NOT stretch hamstring Phase I (sciatic flossing only if neural tension); LSI criteria to run: HS >80-90%, glute med >90%, quad >90%, hop cluster >85%; RTS: LSI HS >95%, glute/quad >95%, hop cluster >95%; PRRS psychological readiness scale used; covers proximal, mid-belly, and distal hamstring variants. [Archived copy — original Massachusetts General Hospital URL retired in the Mass General Brigham site migration; Wayback snapshot 2025-12-10.]

Surgeon / Author

MGH Sports Medicine

Published

December 2021