Effect of neuromeningeal mobilization and postural re-education exercises for persistent hamstring strain: a case report.
Case Report
Despite appropriate interventions, healing following hamstring strain tends to be slow. Prediction for return to play is inconsistent, and recurrence of injuries is high, which poses a challenge and burden to athletes, sports physiotherapists, and trainers. The exact mechanism of hamstring strain injury or re-injury still remains unclear. The primary focus of this case report was to discuss a patient’s course of treatment with relentless symptoms of hamstring strain and how he responded to neuromeningeal mobilization and postural re-education./r/nA 20-year-old male Arabic martial artist had a history of left hamstring strain for the past 5 weeks. He had undergone pharmacological and physiotherapeutic interventions for his clinical conditions but had not responded favorably. Further clinical assessment had ruled out hamstring syndrome. The patient refrained from all sports activities./r/nThe patient was treated using a modified slump mobilization technique with four repetitions for 3 consecutive days, together with postural retraining. Results of the numeric pain rating scale and Knee Society score before and after the interventions were obtained./r/nPre-intervention score of the numeric pain rating scale was 5/10 and 7/10 at rest and with activity, respectively. Assessment on the 3rd consecutive day of intervention, the numeric pain rating scale decreased to 2/10 and 4/10 at rest and with activity, respectively. Similarly, the pre- and post-intervention Knee Society score improved from 22 to 61 in pain and from 30 to 80 in function. At the 2-month follow-up, the patient reported a complete recovery from symptoms and resumed his sports activities without any disruption./r/nNeuromeningel mobilization and postural re-education exercises are suggested as mainstream of treatment for hamstring strains, even when the slump test is negative. This report calls for a need of advancement in diagnostic procedure dealing with all hamstring strain injury conditions. More prospective studies are recommended to confirm the current findings.
