The Fascia Institute and Treatment Center® · New Orleans
The Center for Hamstring Injury
The world’s first and only medical center dedicated to the hamstring
Home of hamstring hydrodissection — the ultrasound-guided procedure Dr. Jacques Courseault pioneered and first published in the peer-reviewed literature. From young athletes to pro athletes, we treat the injury, rebuild the system, and work to keep it from ever happening again.
· Ultrasound-Guided· Published & Peer-Reviewed· Ongoing Research· High School to Pro· New Orleans & Los Angeles
— Curr Sports Med Rep
Why a Center for One Muscle Group
The most common muscle injury in sport deserved its own address
Medically reviewed by Jacques Courseault, MD, CAQSM, FAAPMR · Founder, The Fascia Institute and Treatment Center® · Updated July 2026
The Center for Hamstring Injury is a dedicated program of The Fascia Institute and Treatment Center® in New Orleans — the world’s first and only medical center devoted exclusively to diagnosing, treating, and preventing hamstring injuries. It brings together the procedure we pioneered, hamstring hydrodissection, with ultrasound-based Fascial Mapping®, regenerative treatment, published research, and structured return-to-play — under one roof, led by the physician who first described the technique in the medical literature.4
Hamstring strains are among the most common injuries in sprinting and cutting sports — football, soccer, track, basketball, baseball, lacrosse. The strain itself often calms down in weeks. What doesn’t calm down is the cycle that follows: the leg feels healed, the athlete opens up to full speed, and the same spot grabs again. Roughly one in three hamstring strains recurs within the first year of returning to sport, and re-injuries are frequently worse than the original.1 In one season-long study of college football players, about a third of the roster sustained a hamstring strain.2
Most clinics treat that cycle with rest and stretching, and most athletes stay in it. We built an entire center to break it.
The Piece Most Work-Ups Miss
A stubborn hamstring often isn’t a muscle problem — it’s a fascia problem
Every hamstring muscle pulls through fascia — the connective-tissue sheets and sleeves that let tissue layers slide against each other at sprint speed. After a strain, scar can glue those layers together. The muscle heals; the glide doesn’t. The athlete keeps feeling a “pull” or tightness at speed while the MRI reads normal, because the problem isn’t in the muscle belly — it’s in the interface around it.
Independent imaging research now supports what we’ve treated for years: persistent pain after hamstring injury frequently traces to thickened, adherent fascia around the tendon and aponeurosis rather than to the muscle itself.3 That’s why “rest until it stops hurting” so often fails — rest doesn’t restore glide.
The pattern we see weekly: an athlete months out from a “healed” grade 1–2 strain, cleared by imaging, who still can’t hit top-end speed without the hamstring grabbing. That athlete doesn’t need more rest. That athlete needs the adhesion found and released.
The Procedure We Pioneered
Hamstring hydrodissection — invented here, published first
Hamstring hydrodissection is a minimally invasive, ultrasound-guided procedure that uses a precise stream of fluid to separate fascial layers that have scarred down around the hamstring. Watching in real time on ultrasound, the physician opens the stuck plane at exactly the spot that fails at speed — mechanically restoring glide, not masking pain. At the Center it is delivered as a targeted application of Hydrofascia Release™ (HFR), in the office, in minutes.
Dr. Jacques Courseault, MD, CAQSM, FAAPMR — fellowship-trained sports medicine physician and career team physician at the collegiate and professional level — first described and published fascial hydrodissection for chronic hamstring injury in Current Sports Medicine Reports in 2019, reporting athletes whose chronic hamstring pain and tightness resolved with a quicker return to play.4 Independent researchers, including a 2025 study co-authored by leading fascia anatomist Carla Stecco, have since reported that ultrasound-guided fascial hydrorelease sharply reduced persistent post-hamstring-injury pain, with no recurrences over follow-up.3
Precision
Ultrasound-guided
The adhesion is located and released under real-time imaging — no guesswork, no blind injection.
Mechanism
Targets the fascia
Not a repackaged cortisone shot — the fluid itself mechanically frees the stuck layers that keep a “healed” hamstring re-tearing.
Experience
In-office, in minutes
Minimally invasive, typically completed in a single visit. Out-of-town athletes are often evaluated and treated in one day.
Outcome
Built for return-to-play
In published case reports, athletes returned to competition in days — not the weeks typical of re-injury cycles.4 Results vary by athlete.
See It Under Ultrasound
Watch the procedure — and the athletes who rely on it
See how fluid pressure separates bound fascial planes at the source, guided the whole way by real-time ultrasound — and hear what it means to an NFL veteran’s weekly recovery.
Hamstring hydrodissection performed by Jacques Courseault, MD, at The Fascia Institute and Treatment Center®. Educational video — not a promise of a specific outcome.
WWL-TV’s Meg Farris with Saints linebacker DeMario Davis on how hydrodissection keeps him game-day ready at The Fascia Institute.
Research & Publications
Published. Presented. Independently replicated.
The Center isn’t built on a marketing claim — it’s built on a paper trail. Dr. Courseault put hamstring hydrodissection into the peer-reviewed literature in 2019, our team has presented hamstring research at the last two AAPM&R Annual Assemblies, and independent groups are now publishing the same finding: release the fascia, and the stubborn hamstring lets go.
Fascial Hydrodissection for Chronic Hamstring Injury
Current Sports Medicine Reports 18(11):416–420 — the first published description of the technique. Athletes with chronic hamstring injuries reported resolution of pain and tightness and a quicker return to play.4
Hydrodissection of the Semitendinosus Fascia in a Hypermobile 17-Year-Old Running Back
Accepted and presented at the AAPM&R Annual Assembly, San Diego. View the research poster (PDF).
Ultrasound-Guided Fascial Hydrodissection for Acute Hamstring Strains: A Retrospective Chart Review
Presented at the AAPM&R Annual Assembly, Salt Lake City — extending the technique from chronic injuries to acute strains across our patient series.
Fascial Hamstring Hydrodissection in an NFL Running Back
A professional running back’s chronic hamstring restriction, mapped and released — read the full case.
Fascial Hamstring Hydrodissection in a College Football Player
A college football player’s recurrent hamstring strain treated in-office — read the full case.
Ultrasound-Guided Fascial Hydrorelease for Persistent Pain After Hamstring Injury
J Funct Morphol Kinesiol 10(3):318 — co-authored by fascia anatomist Carla Stecco. An independent group reports marked pain reduction and no recurrences, validating the fascia-first model.3
Ongoing research. The Center maintains an active hamstring research program — retrospective chart reviews of acute and chronic strains, systematic outcome tracking, and annual submissions to national physiatry and sports medicine meetings. Our full library, including additional case reports, lives on the Fascia Institute research page.
In the News
The hamstring procedure the media keeps covering
WWL-TV medical reporter Meg Farris has covered the procedure twice — first in “Rapid hamstring injury recovery with revolutionary treatment,” on the injection procedure helping athletes stay in the game, and again in a Message Meg feature with Saints linebacker DeMario Davis on his recovery routine at The Fascia Institute. Tulane School of Medicine has profiled Dr. Courseault’s work as a “quicker cure for injuries.” Elite performers including Shaquille O’Neal, Jameis Winston, and DeMario Davis have trusted Hydrofascia Release™ — and athletes at every level fly to New Orleans for the same one-day evaluation and treatment.
Beyond the Injury
We don’t just treat the strain — we treat the system
A hamstring almost never fails in isolation. It fails because something upstream or downstream — a stiff hip, a rotated pelvis, a calf that stopped absorbing load, an old ankle sprain — quietly overloaded it, stride after stride. Release the adhesion but ignore the overload, and the calendar resets: same athlete, same spot, next season.
That’s why every athlete at the Center starts with Fascial Mapping® — a systematic ultrasound exam of the hamstring and the connected chain, from low back to heel. The map tells us what to release, what to reinforce, and what to retrain. Then we match the tools to the tissue:
Diagnose
Fascial Mapping®
Ultrasound mapping of the hamstring and its kinetic chain — find the true driver before treating anything.
Release
Hydrofascia Release™
Hamstring hydrodissection (HFR-A / HFR-P) to restore glide at the adhesion — the Center’s signature procedure.
Rebuild Tissue
ProloBoost™ Dual PRP
High-dose PRP with dextrose prolotherapy for tendon and attachment involvement, including high hamstring tendinopathy.
Stabilize
Prolotherapy
For associated ligament laxity and instability that keeps the hamstring guarding — especially in flexible athletes.
Optimize
FIT GPS
Genomic performance screening for the athlete who strains soft tissue repeatedly — find out why it keeps happening.
Prevent
Return-to-Play & Prevention
Structured eccentric strengthening and speed-mechanics progression — the evidence-based way to cut re-injury risk1,5 — plus pre-season fascial screening to catch the next injury before it happens.
Return to play is the floor, not the ceiling. The goal isn’t just getting back on the field — it’s getting back with a hamstring system that holds at top speed, and a screening plan that keeps it that way. Recurrent, “bendy,” multi-site strainers may have an underlying hypermobility pattern worth formal evaluation.
From Friday Nights to Sundays
Young athletes to pro athletes — every hamstring gets the same standard
Youth & High School
The developing athlete
Recruiting showcases and state meets don’t wait. Parents are part of every evaluation and plan, and we coordinate with athletic trainers and coaches. Our research includes a published abstract on a 17-year-old running back.
College
The scholarship season
Combine testing, conference play, transfer-portal timing — a recurring hamstring threatens all of it. Our first self-published case report was a college football player back on the field.
Professional
The contract year
Discretion, in-season timelines, and coordination with team medical staff. Dr. Courseault has served as a team physician at the collegiate and professional level and consults for NFL players and teams.
Fly-In Patients
The one-day visit
Athletes fly to New Orleans from across the country: Fascial Mapping®, hydrodissection, and a written return-to-play plan — often in a single day, with follow-up coordinated remotely.
Two Cities, One Standard
Pioneered in New Orleans. Now in Los Angeles.
The Center for Hamstring Injury is headquartered at our New Orleans flagship, where the technique was developed, published, and is continuously researched. West Coast athletes can receive hamstring hydrodissection in Los Angeles at The Fascia Institute and Treatment Center® of LA in Beverly Hills — same physician, same procedure, same standard.
New Orleans (Flagship): 2520 Harvard Ave., Ste. 2B, Metairie, LA 70001 · (504) 704-1254
Los Angeles: 415 N. Crescent Dr., Ste. 130, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 · (424) 378-3488
Straight Answers
What athletes and parents ask us most
Is hamstring hydrodissection just a cortisone shot?
No. A cortisone injection delivers steroid to quiet inflammation; it does nothing about fascia that has scarred to the tissue beneath it. Hydrodissection uses the fluid itself, under continuous ultrasound guidance, to mechanically separate those stuck layers and restore glide. The mechanism is the release — not the medication.
How fast can an athlete return to play?
It depends on the athlete, the chronicity of the injury, and what Fascial Mapping® finds. In published case reports, athletes have returned to competition within days of the procedure4 — dramatically faster than the re-injury cycle most have been living in. We never promise a timeline; we pair every release with a structured return-to-play progression because that combination, not the injection alone, is what breaks the cycle.1,5
Who is a candidate — and who isn’t?
The classic candidate has a hamstring that hasn’t fully resolved with rest, rehab, and time — especially the “it heals, then grabs again at full speed” pattern, or lingering tightness months after a strain. An in-office ultrasound evaluation determines whether a fascial adhesion is actually driving the pain. If the map points instead to the tendon, the attachment, or instability, we treat that with the right tool — ProloBoost™ Dual PRP, prolotherapy, or a structured loading program — rather than forcing one procedure onto every problem.
My MRI was normal. Why does my hamstring still grab?
Because standard MRI protocols evaluate the muscle and tendon — not fascial glide. A fascial adhesion is a dynamic problem: two layers that should slide past each other and don’t. It’s often invisible on a static scan and obvious on dynamic ultrasound. “Normal MRI” and “normal hamstring” are not the same sentence.3
Do you treat young athletes?
Yes — student-athletes are a core focus of the Center, from high school sprinters to college running backs. For athletes under 18, a parent or guardian is involved in every step, and we coordinate with athletic trainers and team staff when helpful. Young athletes who strain muscles repeatedly, or who are notably flexible, are also screened for hypermobility — one of the most commonly missed drivers of recurrent soft-tissue injury.
Where can I read the research?
Start with the 2019 peer-reviewed paper in Current Sports Medicine Reports, then the AAPM&R 2024 poster, the AAPM&R 2025 retrospective review, our case reports on an NFL running back and a college football player, and the independent 2025 fascial hydrorelease study. Everything else lives on our research page.
The Only Center of Its Kind
Stop re-tearing. Start at the Center.
If a hamstring keeps pulling you — or your athlete — out of the game, find out whether stuck fascia is the reason. Book an ultrasound evaluation at the world’s first and only Center for Hamstring Injury.
The Fascia Institute and Treatment Center® · 2520 Harvard Ave., Ste. 2B, Metairie, LA 70001 · fit@fasciainstitute.org
West Coast? Visit our Los Angeles hamstring clinic.
References & Further Reading
- Heiderscheit BC, Sherry MA, Silder A, Chumanov ES, Thelen DG. Hamstring strain injuries: recommendations for diagnosis, rehabilitation, and injury prevention. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2010;40(2):67–81. PMID 20118524
- Risk factors for hamstring strain injury in male college American football players — a preliminary prospective cohort study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2023;24:448. PMID 37269013
- Shiwaku K, Otsubo H, Nishikawa D, et al. (incl. Stecco C). Ultrasound-guided fascial hydrorelease for persistent pain after hamstring injury. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2025;10(3):318. PMC12371940
- Courseault J, Kessler E, Moran A, Labbe A. Fascial hydrodissection for chronic hamstring injury. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2019;18(11):416–420. PMID 31702723
- Martin RL, Cibulka MT, Bolgla LA, et al. Hamstring strain injury in athletes: clinical practice guidelines. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2022;52(3):CPG1–CPG44. doi:10.2519/jospt.2022.0301
This page is for general education and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. An evaluation does not guarantee a specific diagnosis, timeline, or outcome; results vary from person to person. Hamstring hydrodissection is performed via Hydrofascia Release™ by the physicians of The Fascia Institute and Treatment Center®.