hamstring

今日覚えたい単語はThe Japan Times OnlineのJan.18の記事にありました。
India yet again feels the wrath of terrorism
India's government has failed to develop a cohesive counterterrorism strategy and is hamstringing its military to a dangerous degree.
"hamstring" は確か足のどのかの腱の意味があったと思いますが、動詞だと何の意味になるのでしょう。辞書を見ます。
・Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: to make ineffective or powerless: cripple: hamstrung by guilt: The company claims it is being hamstrung by government regulations.
・Cambridge English Dictionary: to limit the amount of something that can be done or the ability or power of someone to do something: The company was hamstrung by traditional but inefficient ways of conducting business.
・Online Etymology: 意味は分かりましたがどうしてこの様な意味があるのか語源辞典を見ます。
1640s, "to disable, render useless," a figurative verbal extension from hamstring (n.) "tendon at the back of the knee." Cutting this would render a person or animal lame. Literal sense of the verb is attested from 1670s. Since it is a verb from a noun-noun compound, hamstrung as a past participle is technically incorrect.
腱を切られたら確かに "ineffective or powerless" になるでしょうね。
昨年の８月に左足のくるぶし付近に痛みを感じて以来、ジョッギングで３～５km程走ると痛みが必ず出てくるようになったのですが、くるぶしはkneeではありませんが、やはり何かの腱が有って、そのxxx-stringが傷つき、それで痛みが出てくるのでしょうか？　それとも単なる老化現象の一つ？