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Torn hamstring - what to do?
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I have no idea what happened but I'm in a lot of pain from my hamstring.
  1. Ran a 5k on Sunday April 11. Beat my PR by 2 minutes. Felt great.
  2. Bike workout on Monday, felt great
  3. Started a run Tuesday morning and made it a couple hundred feet. Sharp, searing pain in my hamstring.
  4. Rest and naproxen. Tested it a few times and could not run but thought it was gradually getting better.
  5. Did a sprint tri on Sunday April 25. Could not generate much power during the bike. During the run, the leg didn't feel too bad. At 0.9 miles the sharp pain came back and I hobbled the rest of the way in.

Wife says there is bruising on the hamstring above the knee.

One more piece of info, during the 5k and Sprint Tri I wore Saucony Endorphin Pro shoes. The 5k was the first time that I had worn those shoes in a high intensity run.

My usual treatments are not working (tons of caffeine, telling my leg to shut up, and working harder).

How do you know when it is time to go to the doctor? Any tips on healing? Dr. Internet seems to say rest and naproxen along with a ton of questionable devices and gimmicks.
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [tomljones3] [ In reply to ]
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Wife says there is bruising on the hamstring above the knee. -
The symptoms of a pulled hamstring depend on the severity of the injury. The hamstring injury is usually sudden and painful. Other common symptoms include:

  • Bruising: Small tears within the muscle cause bleeding and subsequent bruising. The bruise begins in the back of the thigh, and as time passes the bruise will pass down below the knee and often into the foot.

My usual treatments are not working (tons of caffeine, telling my leg to shut up, and working harder).

#'s 2 & 3 are not going to work and may only prolong your injury.


I've been running since I was 13 and my first major running injury was a pulled hammy at 45 (5 years ago). First I tried stretching it, then running on it and then resting for several months with no running. Finally after 6 months I gave in. Saw a Sports Medicine doctor, got an MRI (no tear) and then PT. The PT really helped a ton and got me back on the road running pain free again.


Good luck and hope your road to recovery is quick.
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [tomljones3] [ In reply to ]
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tomljones3 wrote:
I have no idea what happened but I'm in a lot of pain from my hamstring.
  1. Ran a 5k on Sunday April 11. Beat my PR by 2 minutes. Felt great.
  2. Bike workout on Monday, felt great
  3. Started a run Tuesday morning and made it a couple hundred feet. Sharp, searing pain in my hamstring.
  4. Rest and naproxen. Tested it a few times and could not run but thought it was gradually getting better.
  5. Did a sprint tri on Sunday April 25. Could not generate much power during the bike. During the run, the leg didn't feel too bad. At 0.9 miles the sharp pain came back and I hobbled the rest of the way in.

Wife says there is bruising on the hamstring above the knee.

One more piece of info, during the 5k and Sprint Tri I wore Saucony Endorphin Pro shoes. The 5k was the first time that I had worn those shoes in a high intensity run.

My usual treatments are not working (tons of caffeine, telling my leg to shut up, and working harder).

How do you know when it is time to go to the doctor? Any tips on healing? Dr. Internet seems to say rest and naproxen along with a ton of questionable devices and gimmicks.

Sounds like a severe strain or small tear. You really didn't do yourself any favors with that schedule, you know that right?
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [tomljones3] [ In reply to ]
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Try taking like 3 weeks completely off, maybe swim with a pull buoy but wouldn't do much beyond that as far as tri training.
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [tomljones3] [ In reply to ]
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To be honest your screwed. You have to let it rest and heal. Welcome to more free time now.
Last edited by: Rideon77: Apr 29, 21 7:16
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [tomljones3] [ In reply to ]
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I'm on the tail-end of a hamstring tear (grade 4). It's been 5 weeks and I'm almost ready to run (jog) again.

I went to PT 3 times the week after. They had me doing light exercises and then the therapist would massage it out. Hurt like hell. Then went out of town and all I had was a trainer to ride. I did 40-60min Z1 rides on the trainer every-other day for about 10 days. THIS really helped me stretch the hammy by using different hand positions on the bars. By the end of the 10 days, I was able to use the drops and not feel a painful stretch. I returned to PT twice more where they did dry needling and more massage along with stretching/strengthening exercises. I think the dry needling helped. Like I noted, I'm almost ready to run again.

Oddly enough, my limiting factor now is the calf (on the same side as the hammy tear). The bruising went all the way down my leg and enveloped my calf and shin.

It's a long process but I'd recommend a little PT and get on the bike as soon as you can (trainer). The constant stretching with each pedal stroke worked for me.

Good luck
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [tomljones3] [ In reply to ]
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a doctor could write you a script for PT, and they have ultrasounds and stuff. Plus they can help you rehab it, and find out if you have other stuff (like weak glutes) contributing to it so you don't reinjure it.
I'm sorry :-( heal well.

maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [tomljones3] [ In reply to ]
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This is an acute hamstring strain, not the end of the world. Perfect candidate for rehab and you don’t need to stop all other activities. Though the naproxen isn’t helping the situation as you want an inflammatory process as part of healing. That’s how the body works. Acute strains as you described will heal quite nicely and relatively quickly if you commit to RELATIVE rest (doing less… not nothing) and PT exercises. If you live in a direct access state, you can see a PT without a physician script. Make the appointment.
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [AndrewL] [ In reply to ]
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It sounds like I'm going to the doctor / PT just in case that helps.

Any opinions if cycling zone 1 and 2 would do more damage? I'm guessing I should do nothing but swim for a while.
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [tomljones3] [ In reply to ]
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I tore my hamstring in January. I followed this protocol: Acute phase first 1-2 weeks, ice , rest and swam with pull buoy only. After that I started simple PT exercises like bridges only if pain was less than 3/10. I did not stretch as all the info seems to point to stretching causing more harm. My swimming progressed quickly to be able to kick again and flip turn by about a month. I then progressed to biking easy, I do agree biking easy helped. The running was the hardest one to reintroduce so I started with run/walk and it took weeks to make progress . I am now back to running 5 miles pain free! The most helpful treatment I have to say was the strength exercises, I never saw a PT, I simply watched hours of videos on rehabbing hamstring. I did the exercises diligently and am still keeping them up now to build more strength. Good Luck, it will heal but it takes time. If you run too soon you will just go backwards.
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [tomljones3] [ In reply to ]
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Typically in situations like these pain is your guide. If pain gets worse you should stop. If it hurts a little bit, but doesnt get worse monitor closely. If you have pain that improves with activity, then that activity seems like it can be ok.

Generally, light stationary cycling would be ok. as a general activity guide You need to progress according to how your body allows, be careful and monitor your response closely. Your body will heal, the PT will guide you along that path. Just as important to not overdoing it is not under doing it.
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [tomljones3] [ In reply to ]
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Go to a physio and have a proper assessment and diagnostic. Follow physio's recommendations. If he/she says no exercising for X weeks then no exercising for X weeks. Don't come to ST to seek justifications for exercising.
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [tomljones3] [ In reply to ]
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The same thing happened to me last August. I've been only cycling for the past few years and decided to jump into a 5k. Although I'd done that plenty of times, never as a 52 year old. I was able to be back on the bike within a few days but didn't go past zone 2 for a couple weeks. After that, I could ride as hard as I wanted without issue. I had a similar injury from basketball years ago as well. What I've learned from the experience is that they just take time to heal.

I hope you heal up quickly!
Scott


I have deceptive speed.........I'm slower than I look!
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [softrun] [ In reply to ]
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softrun wrote:
Go to a physio and have a proper assessment and diagnostic. Follow physio's recommendations. If he/she says no exercising for X weeks then no exercising for X weeks. Don't come to ST to seek justifications for exercising.

Understood, I've got the doctor appointment scheduled. My problem is that I'm really bad at the subjective, common sense stuff. When I start exercising pain seems to fade into the background. It is only later that I realize that something is wrong. It helps to bounce ideas off you guys just to see if it is reasonable or not and to get the right frame of reference.
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [tomljones3] [ In reply to ]
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I saw the doctor yesterday and I thought I would give you his update. FWIW, my doctor is a marathon runner who has done a few sprint tris.
  • Naproxen is only for comfort and will slow down the healing process
  • Weight lifting would not have prevented this injury but is a good idea anyway
  • Use a foam roller frequently
  • Total rest of the hamstring 2 weeks from injury.
  • Resume normal biking after the initial 2 weeks of rest. (see below)
  • Swimming can be resumed quickly, watch for pain
  • Start walking after the initial 2 weeks or rest. Stop based on pain. Goal is to slowly increase to a two mile walk with no pain during the walk. Expect soreness afterwards and this is OK.
  • Slowly start running after the 2 mile walk is successful. Similar rules to walking. Progress slowly, stop with pain.
  • Ice for 5 minutes immediately after exercise.
  • Heating pad when not exercising is OK but is only for comfort and will not affect the healing process
  • Swimming and cycling is OK after the initial rest. Stop if there is pain. Consider lowering the saddle height to make sure that the hamstring is not pulled tight. Even hard bike workouts are fine as long as it is not causing hamstring pain.

His opinion is that the initial injury was from running too hard during the 5k race. He thinks my form probably went to pot during the final sprint. The final sprint plus bad form probably caused the injury.
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [tomljones3] [ In reply to ]
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After a proper diagnosis, find a good SPORTS specific RMT that can pick through the muscle and be sure there is no scar tissue forming. You may also have many other minor scars in your muscles that are stopping the muscle as a whole from working properly and putting pressure on one part. I had continual mini pulls due to this. My RMT had to do deep tissue slow work on my ham to clear all the old scars up. It was very painful but in the end i have had no issues since. He used his elbow to trap all the scars and break them apart.
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Re: Torn hamstring - what to do? [tomljones3] [ In reply to ]
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You saw your doctor, who recognized you as a type A like him. His advice:


What you heard:
  • Naproxen is only for comfort and will slow down the healing process
  • Weight lifting would not have prevented this injury but is a good idea anyway
  • Use a foam roller frequently
  • Total rest of the hamstring 2 weeks from injury.
  • Resume normal biking after the initial 2 weeks of rest. (see below)
  • Swimming can be resumed quickly, watch for pain
  • Start walking after the initial 2 weeks or rest. Stop based on pain. Goal is to slowly increase to a two mile walk with no pain during the walk. Expect soreness afterwards and this is OK.
  • Slowly start running after the 2 mile walk is successful. Similar rules to walking. Progress slowly, stop with pain.
  • Ice for 5 minutes immediately after exercise.
  • Heating pad when not exercising is OK but is only for comfort and will not affect the healing process
  • Swimming and cycling is OK after the initial rest. Stop if there is pain. Consider lowering the saddle height to make sure that the hamstring is not pulled tight. Even hard bike workouts are fine as long as it is not causing hamstring pain.



What he actually said:

  • (Made an inside joke to his intern about weight lifting, because, triathlete.)

  • Total rest of the hamstring 2 weeks from injury

  • Start doing stuff slowly

  • Stop if there is pain.
    Stop if there is pain.
    Stop if there is pain.
    Stop if there is pain.

  • (Made an inside joke to his intern about your seat being too high, because, Slowtwitch.)


***
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