The Center for Hamstring Injury · New Orleans
Hamstring Injury Treatment & Hamstring Hydrodissection
A hamstring strain can sideline an athlete for six weeks or more — and one in three come back only to re-tear. Dr. Courseault has treated thousands of hamstrings with ultrasound-guided fascial hamstring hydrodissection, and returns most athletes to full sport in 3–4 days. Athletes fly in from across the country for this. This is the center for hamstring injury.
Jacques Courseault, MD, CAQSM, FAAPMR · The Fascia Institute and Treatment Center®
· Hamstring Strain · Hydrodissection · Ultrasound-Guided · Return to Play
01 · The Center for Hamstring Injury
Back to sport in days — not weeks
Hamstring injuries are among the most common — and most frustrating — problems in sport, because they heal slowly and recur often. Standard hamstring treatment (rest, physical therapy, massage, dry needling, trigger-point injections) helps, but athletes still lose weeks and frequently re-injure on return. We built a different path. At The Fascia Institute, fascial hamstring hydrodissection is a specialty, not a side service — Dr. Courseault authored the first published paper describing the technique, and has since treated thousands of hamstrings across every level of sport.
The result: while a hamstring strain typically keeps athletes out for weeks, most of our patients return to full competition in 3–4 days. Some higher-grade injuries need a second treatment — but the trajectory is measured in days, and it’s why competitive and recreational athletes fly in from across the country to be evaluated and treated here.
As Seen On WWL-TV
Featured by Meg Farris
WWL-TV medical reporter Meg Farris featured Dr. Courseault’s ultrasound-guided hydrodissection — “a quicker cure” that helps athletes stay in the game.
▶ Read the WWL-TV feature: “N.O. doctor may have a quicker cure” → Elite athletes trust it too: how DeMario Davis stays game-day ready →
02 · Diagnosis Done Right
For hamstrings, ultrasound beats MRI
Getting the diagnosis right is half the battle in hamstring injury treatment. MRI is a still snapshot that can over- or under-call a strain; diagnostic ultrasound is dynamic — we watch the muscle and fascia move in real time, grade the strain accurately, find the exact area of injury and adhesion, and guide the needle precisely. In the case below, MRI reported a more serious grade 2 tear; our ultrasound review showed the truth — a milder grade 1 — and revealed additional fascial strains the MRI missed. Accurate grading changes everything about the plan and the timeline.
Case Study · College Football
A defensive end, back in four days
A 20-year-old college football defensive end pulled his left hamstring doing sled drills three days before he came in. He felt a tearing, pulling sensation — no pop — and could walk but not run. Ice, medication, and massage had barely helped. Our physical exam suggested a grade 1 strain between the semitendinosus and adductor magnus. Ultrasound confirmed it — and, importantly, downgraded the MRI’s “grade 2” read to a true grade 1 — while also catching small fascial strains in the gluteus maximus and the long head of the biceps femoris that reproduced his tightness when pressed.
Ultrasound imaging of the hamstring strain in a college football player. · The Fascia Institute and Treatment Center
After reviewing the images and video together, we performed a fascial hamstring hydrodissection targeting the exact areas of inflammation and adhesion. Immediately afterward, his drag test was negative and he could stretch the hamstring with no tightness or pain. Three days of in-house rehab later, he returned to full competition on day four without limitation — in his words, “now my bad hamstring feels better than my good one!”
03 · Our Hamstring Treatment Approach
Everything a hamstring needs to heal — under one roof
Hamstring hydrodissection is the centerpiece, but a fast, durable recovery takes a whole system. Here’s the full stack we bring to a hamstring injury:
Step 1 · Diagnose
Diagnostic Ultrasound
Dynamic, grade-accurate imaging to find the exact injury, adhesions, and fascial strains — more useful than MRI for hamstrings.
Step 2 · Release
Fascial Hamstring Hydrodissection
The technique Dr. Courseault first published — precisely releasing the inflamed, adhered fascia driving pain and tightness.
Step 3 · Rebuild
ProloBoost™ Dual PRP
For actual tears, high-dose platelet-rich plasma supports true tissue repair — added when imaging shows it’s needed.
Step 4 · Optimize
Metabolics: Labs & FIT GPS
Tissue can’t heal fast if the metabolics are off. We check labs and genomics (MTHFR / methylation) to remove hidden roadblocks to healing.
The Difference
Biomechanics + Fascia Expertise
We fix the tissue and the mechanics that tore it — so you come back stronger, not just patched. Some cases need a second treatment.
04 · Hamstring Strains 101
Why hamstring injuries drag on — and come back
A hamstring strain is a tear of one or more of the three hamstring muscles (biceps femoris, semitendinosus, semimembranosus), graded 1 (mild) to 3 (complete tear). They’re slow to heal because the muscle is under constant load and because scar and fascial adhesion form as it repairs. Depending on grade, athletes are commonly out anywhere from a couple of weeks to six weeks or more — and the bigger problem is recurrence: roughly one in three hamstring strains re-injure, often within the first two weeks back, usually from returning too soon or rehabbing incompletely (Hamstring Injuries in the Athlete, 2016).
That’s exactly the cycle our approach is built to break: pinpoint the real injury with ultrasound, release the fascial component that stalls healing, rebuild true tears with PRP when needed, and address the metabolic and biomechanical reasons the hamstring failed — so the return is fast and lasting.
Evidence & More Reading
Pioneered here, and echoed in the literature
Fascial hydrodissection for the hamstring was first published by Dr. Courseault in Current Sports Medicine Reports (2019). Since then, independent groups — including work involving renowned fascia scientist Carla Stecco — have reported the same for persistent post-hamstring pain (2025), and hydrodissection continues to expand across musculoskeletal and nerve injuries (review).
· Hamstring Injury Treatment (main service page)
· Hamstring Hydrodissection Research
· Hamstring Hydrodissection in an NFL Running Back
· The Athlete’s Guide to Hamstring Injuries
The Center for Hamstring Injury
Nagging hamstring? Let’s get you back — fast.
Whether you’re a pro, a college athlete, or a weekend warrior, we’ll evaluate your hamstring with ultrasound and build a plan to return you to sport in days. Athletes travel from across the country — new patients welcome in New Orleans.
References & Media
1. Courseault J, et al. Fascial Hydrodissection for Chronic Hamstring Injury. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2019;18(11):416–420. — PubMed · Full text
2. Shiwaku K, et al. (incl. Stecco C). Ultrasound-Guided Fascial Hydrorelease for Persistent Pain After Hamstring Injury. J Funct Morphol Kinesiol. 2025;10(3):318. — MDPI
3. Hamstring Injuries in the Athlete: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Return to Play. 2016. — PMC
4. Hydrodissection review (musculoskeletal & nerve applications). — PMC
5. WWL-TV (Meg Farris): N.O. doctor may have a quicker cure. — wwltv.com
This page is for general education and is not medical advice, nor does it create a physician–patient relationship. Individual results vary; return-to-play timelines depend on injury grade and the individual, and some cases require more than one treatment. The Fascia Institute and Treatment Center® · 2520 Harvard Ave, Ste 2B, Metairie, LA 70001 · (504) 704-1254.
