Hamstring injury: recovery tips?

[deathpunk dan]

About six weeks ago I pulled a hamstring running and have not run since.
For the first week or so, it hurt badly enough I could barely walk. However, it seemed to have been getting progressively better with time. I have not been stretching it aggressively. Just not running or biking.

This past weekend, I dared to go for a bike ride (put a new wheelset on my road bike and wanted to try it out). I only rode about 17 miles and the soreness is back. Certain parts of my leg are very sore to the touch. Not cool.

As it is, I've already missed enough training time I'll almost certainly (for the second yr in a row - stress fracture in the same leg last year) miss the race I was training for. Now I just want the soreness to go away and at least be able to bicycle.

Are there any ways of healing this at home or do I need to see an ortho/sports medicine doc/phys therapy?

Thank You

Dan

[JavaBrewer]

My son suffered a minor tear in his hamstring last year. His PT was nothing ground breaking. Stretch and leg flexibility and strength routines. Swimming was really helpful. Best of luck.

[Evans, Marv]

I pulled my left hamstring twice. Actually the second time I think I tore it since the whole back of my leg in that area filled with blood & turned red, then blue, then yellow before returning to a normal color. I was 21 & in the Army the first time & did it playing football on the battalion football team. Nobody but me wanted to warm up, so I went along and started practice. I did it running a reverse play & couldn't play after that. The second time I was 43 and was demonstrating how to run the low hurdles for a college friend. I thought I had warmed up enough but overextended the muscle going over a hurdle. I suggest you ask a doc, but at least exercise it lightly to start warming it up, stretching it, and doing lexercise that gives good range of motion. I tried but didn't do enough of that and although I don't have trouble with mine, if I don't warm it up and stretch it, I will still feel some pain. Plus I really think the muscle was torn and not exactly the same anymore. I'd say warm up, stretching, and progressively more vigorous exercise for it as it heals. I think a doctor would say the same since there isn't anything internal you can do for it. Good luck. It will take some time.

[Tobra]

ice, compression and tincture of time

[Hawkeye's-911T]

Tobra: ice, compression and tincture of time

+1 on "tincture of time"
Cheers
JB

[89911]

I suffered through a hamstring injury for many years. It always felt stiffer then the other leg. When I would run, it would be tighter and then eventually loosen up to the point of being unnoticable after a few miles. Usually on the car ride home, it would tighten up again and I would walk with a noticable limp for the next day or two. Would feel better and I would repeat the process over. At one point, it would hurt for the entire run and never got better. Did all the PT and Xrays, Exams, ETC. I really think getting one of those large foam rollers and working out the scar tissue finally gave me enough flexibility that it hasn't been a problem running. I tore it years ago and it healed with shortness and less flexibility. Work on getting that tissue flexible and it should help. Massage helps, but its a pretty sensitive issue.

[DanielDudley]

I rode a stationary bike at very low load, concentrating on full movement and flexibility. The trick is to work out without causing pain or re injury. I had a long recovery, and turned to no load as a last resort. After six months of soreness and messing around, this was the ticket.

You could visit a physical therapist, or do some on line research on recovery. If you do the stationary bike, start with ten minutes and work into it. In the meantime, listen to Tobra.

[Schrup]

My hamstrings have recently started to feel healthy again after intense activity last summer. I went to PT for painful achilles & asked them about my hamstrings. They gave me some very simple stretches. I lay on my back with a rubber cord around the bottom of my foot & my leg straight. I pull my leg up using the rubber cord & try to hold a hard stretch for close to a minute. I then pull my leg across the other to stretch the outside & then pull it out for half splits to stretch the inside. I then do the other leg. The PT told me the key is to hold your stretches at least 30 seconds. I try to do these everyday I run along with all my achilles inversion exercise & stretches. It took several months for the tightness to disapate.

I just started running again the weekend after taking a couple months off. Good luck, you'll need patience.