The IOW this week comes from Drs. Yalina Disla, Gopika Suraj, and Marita Harris-Naddell, who used bedside ultrasound to identify a hamstring tear on ultrasound. Their patient presented following a crush injury to the posterior thigh while at work. He had extensive bruising along the distal posterior-medial thigh. When the probe was placed over the area of maxima tenderness, the videos and image below were obtained.
Image 1
In the image above we see a partial tear of the musculotendinous junction. In the video clips note how the defect is accentuated by passively flexing and extending the knee. Ultrasound is sensitive for detecting hamstring tears in the first 1-2 weeks when surrounding hematoma makes injuries easier to visualize. The majority of hamstring injuries are managed with RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) and physical therapy.
Date: January 2015