Anyone maintain training/recover with pulled hamstring?

Triathlon Forum
1

I am hoping someone can give me better advice or tell me what worked for them:
in late july i pulled my hamstring doing some speed work after a weeklong GI illness–my guess is i was dehydrated and low on potassium or whatever else my body lost in its weeklong effort to turn inside out.
after that i could not tolerate dairy–which was my main protein–lots of yogurt and cottage cheese
I have done some eggs and mostly red meat instead since then. I backed off of biking, quit running a little over a week, swam 2-3 times a week.
however, my hamstring still hurt a bit. But i was able to run and bike but at a reduced effort/distance. August 1-2 i ran and rde fairly hard and my hamstring was able to do it but really hurt the next day, tight, sore. Friday was my first run after 12 days off from running and i had only biked twice–easy–during the prior week. still swam twice–and got a calf cramp pushing off the wall at one point–which has not happened to me since i first seriously started to swim

so, based on the calf cramp and con’t hamsting issue I am thinking going from high dairy to no dairy my calcium fell drastically and i got cramps and the pull was worse/won’t heal

I have tried ice and heat over the weekend and my hamstring still is sore to the touch when i massage it. I have a foam roller and “the stick” which i am using regularly (more the foam roller).
I am basically maintaining some triathlon fitness while trying to qualify for boston at a marathon in late october–i was only up to 1hr 50 minute runs (marathon goal is 3:15) when this all happened so i am in trouble with my training plan/goal for October. prior to the injury i’d been riding 200 miles a week for a few years and started running again in january. i also started swimming 2-3 times a week in february–had no real issues except for an initial achilles strain when i jumped into running (the biking gave me aerobic fitness to just go run an hr but my body was not up to that)

anyone have any ideas–i fear if i need to stop running and/or riding for 2 weeks or so then i won’t have time to get the long runs built up for the marathon
thanks
jim

2

Yep, have had hamstring issues and continued to train. The issue for me was pretty simple: a bad move on the bike had caused a small tear and subsequent scar tissue build-up in the hamstring. I had a super ART / massage therapist do some intensive work on the hamstring (three visits in one week), as well as lots of time on the foam roller every day. Kept running but I had to avoid hills, and I made sure that I spent 15-20min on the foam roller immediately after my run and bike workouts. Took about ten days to recover, no break in my training.

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Thanks–anyone know a good ART in san diego?
that is the only thing i have not done
I’ve hit the foam roller and stretched after workouts
been way over 10 days too
jim

4

Stretching hamstrings often make them worse.

I’ve hurt the hammy a few times. Stretching the glutes and lower back relaxed the tention alot. Also a LOT of hip flexor and quad stretching. A therapist told me that 80% of the time a problem with the back side is directly teh result of a problem with teh front side. Tight quads and hip flexors will cause teh hips to rock forward which puts tension on the hamstrings.

No speed work.

5

Stretching hamstrings often make them worse.

I’ve hurt the hammy a few times. Stretching the glutes and lower back relaxed the tention alot. Also a LOT of hip flexor and quad stretching. A therapist told me that 80% of the time a problem with the back side is directly teh result of a problem with teh front side. Tight quads and hip flexors will cause teh hips to rock forward which puts tension on the hamstrings.

No speed work.
Hmmm, I didn’t know this. Thank you, I will definately keep this in mind when stretching. I am always afraid of hurting my hamstrings.

6

Stretching hamstrings often make them worse.