Hamstring Avulsions: Scalpel Wins the Race Back to the Field

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For the middle-aged weekend warrior who tears their hamstring sprinting after a pickleball, the next big decision isn’t just which brace to wear—it’s whether to go under the knife. A new meta-analysis gives orthopods a sharper edge in that conversation.

Published in the July 13, 2025, issue of the Journal of Experimental Orthopaedics, the study by Thamrongskulsiri et al. (that’s six surgeons, not a law firm) took a hard look at 592 patients across seven comparative studies. The study is titled: “No difference in patient-reported outcomes between operative and non-operative management of proximal hamstring injuries, but return to sports is higher in operative treatment”