General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Nagging Hamstring Injury Rss Feed  
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2011-05-02 11:41 AM


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Subject: Nagging Hamstring Injury

So I strained my hamstring last October, and it refuses to heal.  As soon as it happened, I took a week off, went for a run, and then it hurt again.  Then I took two weeks off, went for a bike ride, and then it hurt again.  Then, I took four weeks off, the same thing.  I finally saw a physical therapist about two months ago, she gave me some stretching and strengthening exercises to do, and she told me to ice it twice a day.  She also told me I could start biking and swimming after a few weeks, and then start running after 4 to 6 weeks depending on how I felt.  So I've been doing everything she said, then I tried biking and swimming, and it was just a little sore.  The soreness went away the next day.  Then I tried jogging, and everything went back to crap.  My hamstring is sore again.  So now it's been 6 months since the initial injury, and it feels like I'm back at square one. 

I've read some of the old posts about this, and it seems like people with torn hamstrings have gotten over their injuries in  6 weeks.  I'm either doing something wrong in my rehab (even though I'm trying to follow her advice as best I can) or something is wrong with my hamstring.

Any thoughts?



2011-05-02 3:01 PM
in reply to: #3477703

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Subject: RE: Nagging Hamstring Injury

Did you hurt it near an attachment point, or in the belly of the muscle?  Do you have a leg length discrep?  That's the cause of my own hammy issues, and a lift helps reduce problems due to running.

No idea what your issue is, but you might want to try cross-frictional massage if you haven't already.  I found it much more effective for my hammy than just foam (or pvc) rolling.  Some say eccentric strengthening helps, but I didn't find it to help.

Good luck!

2011-05-02 3:55 PM
in reply to: #3477703

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Subject: RE: Nagging Hamstring Injury

I have also been fighting a hamstring injury for two months.  Luckily, in my case the initial strain was not that bad (I felt something and stopped immediately but I was ok to still walk without a major limp and I did not have a pain while sleeping). 

I have also been going to physical therapy for five weeks (after three weeks of self diagnosis and the bad cycle of trying to run and feeling it then waiting longer only to have the same issue) and I am now starting to build my running again.  I still notice my hamstring but it is not necessarily pain.  I think sometimes when you come back from an injury that the area affected is "reawakening" and so it may not mean that you shouldn't run on it.  Instead it just means that you need to take things slowly and continue listening to your body. 

So in the end, I suggest that you listen to your body but see if what you currently feel is different than when the injury occurred.  Is it just scar tissue/tightness or is it the same symptom which caused you to stop.

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General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Nagging Hamstring Injury Rss Feed