There now may be yet another shutdown in Washington, DC—this time on the football field. On Sunday, Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels went down with a right hamstring injury in the third quarter of their matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. More info about the injury will be known after Daniels undergoes an MRI of his right upper leg on Monday. But if Daniels did indeed suffer hamstring strain that’s any worse than mild then the Commanders could end up shutting the star second-year QB down for anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
The injury apparently occurred several minutes into the third quarter with the Commanders trailing the Cowboys 34-14 at AT&T Field in Arlington, Texas. After taking the snap, Daniels dropped back, looking to throw the ball, because that’s what QBs do. But Cowboys linebacker Shemar James quickly rushed right at Daniels, because that’s what linebackers do. James then hit Daniels forced the ball out of the QB’s hands. IN falling to the turf, Daniels twisted his right leg rather awkwardly. It didn’t take a super sleuth to realize that the back of Daniel’s right thigh had gotten injured because that’s what he subsequently grabbed. Daniels’ managed to limp off the field while holding the back of his right upper leg but never returned to the game afterwards.
What Is a Hamstring Strain?
Again, we can’t tell for sure the nature of the injury until the results of Monday’s MRI become available. But the current leading possibility is some type of hamstring strain. Now if you play any kind of sports or participate in any kind of physically strenuous activity that involves running or jumping, it’s important to get an upper leg, so the speak, on what your hamstrings are and do and how to prevent them from getting injured. Your hamstrings consist of three rather large muscles than run through the back of each of your upper legs. These three muscles are known as the biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus muscles.
When these muscles contract, they bend your knee so that your heel moves towards your butt. This motion is key to your ability to sprint and jump. But it also helps you slow down or step when you’re running. Therefore, even though your hamstrings don’t often appear in selfies or help you hold up a fish in a dating profile pic, they can be pretty important to maintain and protect.
A hamstring strain is when you stretch or tear fibers in one or more of these muscles. It is also known as a hamstring pull or hamstring tear. There is a grading system that rates the severity of a hamstring strain, as described by the Cleveland Clinic:
- Grade 1. This is considered a mild strain where no more than a small percentage of muscle fibers have been torn. While there may be some pain and swelling, you typically will retain full muscle strength.
- Grade 2. This is a moderate strain with many more fibers being torn. There’s a lot more pain along with loss of muscle power.
- Grade 3. This is the most severe grade of strain and even more into the uh-oh range. This is where a muscle is completely torn or ruptured. It’s typically associated with significant swelling and loss of muscle function.
The following illustration shows the location of your hamstring muscles and the three aforementioned grades of hamstring injuries:
How Do You Prevent Hamstring Injuries?
Hamstring strains are more likely to occur when your hamstring muscles are weak and tight. Therefore, to prevent such injuries, it’s a good idea to regularly do exercises that strengthen your hamstrings. Example of such exercise are various types of deadlifts, squats and leg curls. And it shouldn’t be too much of a strecth to always thoroughly stretch your hamstrings prior to and following any type of activity that may involve some kind of running or jumping or body positioning that will invovle you bending your knee.
How Do You Treat A Hamstring Injury?
The typical treatment regimens for a hamstring strain sound a bit like dinner. First, there’s the RICE method, with RICE being an acronym for rest, ice, compression and elevation. It should be obvious what rest is and why it is important to give your muscle time to heal. Periodically icing the area can reduce the swelling and inflammation. Wrapping the area with compression bandages and elevating your leg above your heart can reduce the swelling as well.
Then there’s the MEAT method. The MEAT of it stands for movement, exercise, analgesia and therapy. Moving the area can keep the blood flowing and the area from getting stiff. However, this would not be the time to join the Radio City Rockettes. Instead, the movement should be gentle adn careful until it is clear that more vigourous and strenous movements can be tolerated. Similarly, exercises can help strengthen the muscle but shoudl be introduced in a very gradual and careful manner. Analgesia is a fancier medical term for the use of pain relievers. And the treatment in the MEAT frequently consists of some type of physical therapy.
Now, surgery is a possibility but only for more severe grade 3 strains where the muscle cannot heal completely by itself. This includes situations where one or more of the hamstring tendons are torn through completely, where much of the central part of the muscle is involved or where there’s an accompanying fracture of the bones connected to the muscles by tendons. Surgery may also be necessary if you continue to suffer pain or instability after more conservative treatment has been attempted.
How Long Will It Take For Daniels To Recover?
Of course, the best case scenario for the Commanders is that Daniels suffered no more than a grade 1 injury. If this were the case, he would only need about two to five days for recovery. That would allow him to return to the field next week. But anything more severe than a grade 1 strain would necessitate a significantly longer recovery and treatment period—from a few weeks to few months. Naturally, any kind of surgery would add even more time to his recovery.
Daniels’ Injury Is Yet Another Injury Hit To The Washington Commanders
Daniels injury adds to disarray that has already beset Washington, DC—the disarray to the NFL football team, that is. This season has seen a number of other Commanders players commanding a lot of attention from the medical staff. For example, the team’s three leading wide receivers have been on the receiving end of a wide range of injuries. Terry McLaurin has been sidelined by a quadriceps injury. Similarly, Deebo Samuel has needed time to heal from a heel injury. And Noah Brown added to the growing injury concerns with a groin injury.
The running game also took a big hit back in week 2. That’s when the Commanders running back Austin Ekeler tore his Achilles tendon. As a result, he’s lost for the season.
This is certainly not what the Commanders wanted to happen with expectations so high for this season. Last season, they surprised the league by making it all the way to the NFC Championship Game with a rookie quarterback at the helm. That rookie was Daniels. So, with Daniels now having a year of pro experience under his belt, many experts thought that the Commanders would be challenging for the NFC East and NFC overall titles this year. But the 44-22 loss to Dallas on Sunday has left the Commanders with a rather mediocre 3-4 record so far.
There’s still plenty of time for the team to turn things around, especially since the division-leading Philadelphia Eagles aren’t exactly tearing it up. The results of Monday’s MRI will help determine how much Jayden Daniels’ hamstring may end up hamstringing the Commanders’ chances of surpassing what they accomplished last season.