General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her. Rss Feed  
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2011-04-26 7:27 AM

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Subject: Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her.
I have no experience with hamstring pulls. Any instruction would be appreciated.


2011-04-26 7:30 AM
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Subject: RE: Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her.

Rest

Ice - first 2 days, heat after that

Compression

Elevation

I pulled mine last year and I had to take a month off from running and cycling, and I used a pull buoy when I was swimming. When I first did it I'd give it a day or two, then try to work out, and I'd have pain again. It wasn't until I allowed it to heal completely, that it did heal.



Edited by ironannekidd 2011-04-26 7:30 AM
2011-04-26 7:44 AM
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Subject: RE: Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her.
ironannekidd - 2011-04-26 8:30 AM

Rest

Ice - first 2 days, heat after that

Compression

Elevation

I pulled mine last year and I had to take a month off from running and cycling, and I used a pull buoy when I was swimming. When I first did it I'd give it a day or two, then try to work out, and I'd have pain again. It wasn't until I allowed it to heal completely, that it did heal.



x2
Hamstrings take a long time to heal. Make sure it is healed completely before resuming activity or it will linger on and on.
2011-04-26 7:45 AM
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Subject: RE: Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her.

rest, rest and more rest.  When I was running college track, I hate to say it but, it probably took me nearly 6-7 months before I was back to 100% again. 

Good luck!

2011-04-26 8:13 AM
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Subject: RE: Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her.

I've had some experience with this one. Here is a similar thread I posted in a while back: hamstring pull

Here is my response from the bottom:

Beafly - 2008-10-08 12:20 PM

AAAAAaaaggrrrhhhHHH!!!

I say that from personal experience.

I blew my hamstring up in lacrosse because of improper warm-up also. Traffic on the way to a game and the home team's refusal to delay the game 15 minutes had us on the field within 10 minutes of getting off of a hour and a half bus ride. Sprinting out a ball on the end-line in only the first quarter I heard an audible pop and dang near the worst pain in my life took me to the ground.

I was laid up for about a weak and took a full 2 weeks off of practice to rest. I started back into practice after about 2 weeks but totally non-contact and I'd say at only 50% capability. I saw game time at the last game of the season about 4 weeks after the injury, but only a couple of minutes and I actually pulled myself from the game because I felt I was bringing the team down (felt maybe 75% by then). I didn't really feel back to 100% until the end of that summer, probably a full 14 weeks or so after the injury.

Like you, my glute was tore up too. SOOO Much pain from my butt all the way to the back of my knee.  

6 weeks is probably not unrealistic to be back running comfortably again. You'll be able to push yourself to be moving before then, but you need to really ask yourself if it's worth delaying full recovery.

As for tips. RICE!!! Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation!!! For the first two weeks, you have to keep the swelling down. I can't say enough how important compression is on your hamstring. Even when you're not working out. I found that the best way to accomplish this, was to put on a pair of compression shorts and then wrap over the top of that. A good quality ace bandage worked fine while I was lying around the house, and absolute ton of athletic tape when I was going out (there is a right and wrong way to do this too, find help if you don't know).

Getting enough ice on your hamstring and butt is dang near impossible. Give up and go to the ice bath. It's the only way. 

Find a good physical therapist to help you with recommended stretches and rehab exercises once you're moving around again.

I'm feel soooo sorry for you. But don't despair, it will heal. It is going to take time though. And you've got to give it time or you'll only subvert your own body and do more damage than good.

EDIT: SP 

2011-04-26 8:58 AM
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Subject: RE: Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her.

Here's what my physical therapist told me when I first starting going to him (3 months after I damaged my hamstring and made it worse by continuing to run): If you experience pain, stop. Do not continue. Pain is a signal from your brain that you've done damage. DO NOT run on a damaged hamstring; it will do more damage and extend your recovery time.

It was 14 months before I could run again after I finished PT. I'm sure that running on it after I damaged it did more damage and extended my recovery time. When the weather is very cold, I can feel the scar tissue in my hamstring.

You know you're ready to run again when you go for a test run and feel NO pain.

Your wife's recovery time depends on how badly she's damaged her hamstring. On a scale of 0-10, where is her discomfort or pain?



2011-04-26 9:03 AM
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Subject: RE: Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her.

Rest..... and then a little more rest on top of that.

If shes the stubborn type and wants to run on it, let her know that she is welcome to run on it but that you dont want to hear her complain when it still hasnt healed in a year.

2011-04-26 9:26 AM
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Subject: RE: Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her.
tell her,...."you know what cures a pulled hamstring......."
2011-04-26 9:36 AM
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Subject: RE: Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her.

That sucks!  I've pulled my left hammy twice, last time 3 or so years ago a grade 2-3.  Grade the pull (search online), it'll tell her a lot about what to expect.  I also did electro-stimulus therapy and it help to relieve the stiffness and think I was back into action a week or so sooner.   Also did massage therapy to help with the over compensation on the opposite side.

Since I was limited (couldn't swim 1st week) I decided to focus on my core and and it paid off in the long run.

2011-04-26 9:46 AM
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Subject: RE: Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her.

jgerbodegrant - 2011-04-26 10:26 AM tell her,...."you know what cures a pulled hamstring......."

LOL...Well played sir! Laughing

 

Tell her...."HTFU"!

2011-04-26 12:39 PM
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Subject: ...
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2011-04-26 12:50 PM
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Subject: RE: Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her.
mktoson - 2011-04-26 10:46 AM

jgerbodegrant - 2011-04-26 10:26 AM tell her,...."you know what cures a pulled hamstring......."

LOL...Well played sir! Laughing

 

Tell her...."HTFU"!

I was gonna go with "see I told you how important it is for you to get more flexible"

2011-04-26 1:18 PM
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Master
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Subject: RE: Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her.
Tell her "If I could trade places with you, I'd do it in a heartbeat"
2011-04-26 2:14 PM
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Subject: RE: Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her.
Renee - 2011-04-26 8:58 AM

Here's what my physical therapist told me when I first starting going to him (3 months after I damaged my hamstring and made it worse by continuing to run): If you experience pain, stop. Do not continue. Pain is a signal from your brain that you've done damage. DO NOT run on a damaged hamstring; it will do more damage and extend your recovery time.

It was 14 months before I could run again after I finished PT. I'm sure that running on it after I damaged it did more damage and extended my recovery time. When the weather is very cold, I can feel the scar tissue in my hamstring.

You know you're ready to run again when you go for a test run and feel NO pain.

Your wife's recovery time depends on how badly she's damaged her hamstring. On a scale of 0-10, where is her discomfort or pain?

Me too.  How sore do you stay in general?  I've had to manage my scar tissue.  It acted up last summer, and is still sore pretty frequently.  I've got scar tissue in the belly of the muscle and the glute area.  

Dr. told me that the belly can be worked out, which it pretty much did with some PT and strengthening.  The glute, not so much, because it was in a hard to reach area (difficult to get in there and work with the scared fibers).  My initial injuries were 18 years ago, and the scar tissue just got worked up with increased running volume.

I've resigned myself to a life with a sore hamstring and tight hip flexor (which is another story entirely, as I pulled the hip flexor off the bone 18 years ago also).

Anyway, tell your wife to let it heal completely, as hamstring problems can persist if not rested and healed.  From what I understand, the scar tissue never really goes away from a bad pull.

2011-04-26 2:16 PM
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Subject: RE: Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her.
tell her to do whatever the doctor says
2011-04-26 4:05 PM
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Subject: RE: Wife pulled her hamstring. Tell me what to tell her.
Depends on the severity of the pull, but hammies are tough to rehab.  I popped mine 20 days before an IM and did manage to finish the race, but it eventually popped again 16 miles into the run and I had to walk the rest...couldn't even manage a shuffle after I reinjured it.  I went back to serious rehabbing after the race and was racing again a month later, but it was another month after that before I was 100%.  A significant tear, though, can really put you on the shelf for months and is easy to re-injure.


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