Usain Bolt is forced to undergo an MRI scan after injuring his left hamstring while he was running for Jamaica in the 4×100 metre relay on Saturday August 12th 2017 at the IAAF World Championships in London.
As a result, the soon-to-be 31-year-old will need medical imaging to determine the extent of the damage on Sunday. His prognosis has yet to be revealed to the public.
According to a study by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, hamstring muscle strains have been recognised as a significant injury, especially for athletes over the last 100 years.
There is a wide spectrum of hamstring-related injuries that can occur in athletes, especially those who compete in sports where sprinting or high speed skilled movements are involved. Injuries occur when the three muscles which make up the hamstring group undergo too much strain and therefore cramp up or develop tears.The most common sports where hamstring injuries occur are soccer, rugby, track, tennis and field hockey.
A Study in the Journal of Sport and Health Science states that advanced musculoskeletal imaging, including MRI and ultrasound, are the two most common modalities used to identify and determine the prognosis of these injuries.
The article titled “Rehabilitation and Return to Sport after Hamstring strain injury” states that Ultrasound and MRI provide an “objective measure” and therefore these modalities are used to assess the severity of hamstring injuries, especially for professional athletes.
A Study published in 2010 in The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy explains that MR imaging is considered superior for evaluating injuries to deep portions of the muscles, and is useful when a previous hamstring injury is present.
Despite finishing third in his final race, Bolt is still considered one of the greatest athletes of all time. He remains as the only sprinter to win Olympic 100m and 200m titles at three consecutive Olympics (2008, 2012 and 2016).