Surgery a better treatment option for some hamstring injuries

Patients treated surgically for a hamstring rupture demonstrated better results than those treated only with therapy, according to a study presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's (AOSSM) Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL.

"Overall, patients in this study treated with surgery had a trend towards better lower extremity function as well as a higher likelihood of returning to re-injury activities than those treated non-surgically," commented corresponding author Joshua Olsen, MD, from the New England Baptist Hospital. "Most notably, the surgical group reported an average lower extremity function score (LEFS) of 74.71 as compared to 68.50 for the non-surgical group."

The study included 25 total patients, with 14 patients treated surgically (average age of 46.98) and 11 treated without surgery (average age of 55.6). The non-surgical group attempted therapy for an average of 4.6 months.

"While the study size does have limitations, the significant benefit for those treated surgically cannot be ignored," noted Olsen. "This information can help us in making future treatment recommendations to patients experiencing similar hamstring injuries"