Background: Distal hamstring tears are rare, but recovery and rehabilitation are long, and this event is associated with a risk of loss of function. Surgery is often necessary for complete tears. The long-term results and the return to sport (RTS) have not been extensively studied in these cases. Purpose: The goal of this study was to evaluate the functional outcome, the RTS and the complications two years after surgical management of distal hamstring tears. We hypothesized that surgical treatment of these distal tears would be associated with a good functional outcome and a satisfactory RTS with few complications or recurrent tears. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed in 22 patients who underwent surgery for an acute or chronic distal hamstring tear between 2008 and 2022. At least two years after surgery the UCLA, PHAS and Tegner scores were recorded as the primary outcome criteria. The Return to sport rate, the time to return to sport, and any complications were recorded as secondary criteria. Results: There were two lost to follow-up. Twenty patients were analyzed. The mean follow-up was 4.5 years. Injuries were acute at surgery in 80% of cases. At the final follow-up the median PHAS score was 99.5, the median UCLA score was 10.0 and the median Tegner score was 7.0. Most patients (90%) had returned to their preinjury sport at the same level or higher than before surgery. The mean RTS time was 4.0 months. There was no significant difference between functional scores before and after surgery. One patient presented with a postoperative flexion deformity that was successfully treated with physiotherapy. There were no recurrent injuries. Conclusion: This retrospective cohort study shows that surgical treatment of distal hamstring tendon ruptures yields good functional results, a high and rapid return to sports, and few complications.
Denis-Aubrée et al. (Thu,) studied this question.