On Wednesday I found out from my sports massage therapist that I tore my left hamstring, at the point where it connects to my ass, racing at Steelhead. On Thursday I found out from a Dr. friend (also a triathlete/roadie) that, due to the location of the tear, I most likely injured it on the bike. Is this indicative of something being wrong with my position or my pedal stroke? Obviously something is wrong but I’m not sure where to start trying to figure it out. Any thoughts or help would be greatly appreciated.
have you checked angle of the hip-knee-pedal with crank arm pointing straight down. 130-150 deg ?
I know this sound like the boy who cried wolf too often since it’s a running ST joke, but seriously, your seat could be too high.
Usually when you tear a muscle, it occurs in the muscle belly (thickest part)…However, when you have a tear at the origin (ischial tuberosity…your butt) or insertion (into your tibia or lower leg) it can be indicative of overuse. The muscle can start to tear away from the origin or insertion when undue or uneven force is placed on the tendon while the muscle in an extended position. Ie. pulling through while sitting up, or being so far forward in the aero position that you can’t elicit a proper hamstring contraction. So, to answer your question, yes, it could be your position AND/OR your pedal stroke, but it could also be that you have a weak glute…and if you’re not using your supposed-to-be strong glutes, your weaker hamstrings take over and do the job.
You could just be pulling through too hard on the effected side. Check to see that your saddle height is good and that you have a proper 115 degrees of flexion at the knee while you’re at the bottom of your pedal stroke.
What kind of bike are you riding? Road or TT? and do you do any kind of resistance training? We can pinpoint what’s wrong…the more info you give me the better 
BTW I’m a Certified Athletic Trainer, and have my own personal training business - I focus mainly on corrective and functional resistance training.
D
That’s an interesting injury… What are the symptoms of this? And how did your massage therapist know where it tore?
I’m riding a Cervelo P2C with a Selle SMP saddle. My position is pretty comfortable, though I did have some chafing issues with my trisuit at Steelhead so that may have also influenced the way I was pedaling. I have not done any resistance training.
Here are some pictures of my position: http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=1835705;search_string=position%20steelhead;#1835705
Hi DTrainVI,
I have been told by PTs in the past that I have weak glutes. I come from a cycling background and just started doing dus this summer so am hoping that running will help. Could you pass along some exercises that target the glutes? Thanks.
That’s an interesting injury… What are the symptoms of this? And how did your massage therapist know where it tore?
I actually had no idea that I had gotten injured. My legs were just feeling a bit tight and sore, especially my left hamstring and glute. After sitting for a while my left hamstring and glute would be really tight to the point of making me limp for a few minutes when I would stand up (it’s still this way). All I told my massage therapist was that both legs were sore and needed to be loosened up a bit. He did my right leg and said that it had been pretty tight but that it loosened up nicely, then he moved to my left leg: The second he started on my left hip/glute/hamstring he said “you tore this over the weekend, I can feel the injury and maybe some scar tissue.” This guy has been doing sports massage for 12 years and has 5 clients in the Olympics this year for Track & Field, so I trust whatever he tells me about my legs.
Your position looks pretty good…after you changed it I noticed that you said you moved your cleats back. I did the same, and noticed that I had more hamstring recruitment. This being because you’re pushing your heel down - stretching everything - then pulling it back under you. Sit in a chair with your foot in front and pull it back towards you flat…and then point your entire foot up and drag your heel on the ground towards you. Feel the difference? With every little change you make, you get similar, yet different recruitment patterns. In the pedal stroke, now that your heel is pointed down more, you’re in essence stretching everything out, and then pulling it back under you. Make sense?
When you heal up try pushing your cleat forward, just slightly, and then slowly work your way back. With the pedaling, make sure that you’re smooth, and working the clock or barrel (however you want to call it) Let me know if you want some simple exercises to do to strengthen your glutes. You’d be suprised how weak many people are.
D
Start brushing your teeth standing on one leg! haha Ok, I say that jokingly, but it will help - especially if you’re as busy as some are with daily work, family, etc. Running is not going to strengthen your glutes. If they’re already weak, you’re more than likely going to use your hamstrings through your stride pattern. If you have the time to do some resistance exercise - I would suggest doing proper lunges, single leg squats, and standing on one leg while doing various other exercises.
I’m not a big fan of using other sites as examples, because I always find something wrong with them - HOWEVER, I’m sending you these two clips as a reference. Now, don’t go doing the ninja jumps and powercleans etc! haha I picked the first clip because he has good form for the most part. The second is an example of why you shouldn’t trust just anybody…(well, wait…I’m still just anybody! But I have a string of credentials behind my name…and do it daily for a living.)
Try these:
Pretty self explanatory - this is a staple exercise - if you have knee problems - start with partial lunges…only going through a quarter or a little more of the range of motion…work your way to 90/90 at the knees and hips.
2. Single Leg Squat to Touchdown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pLHZK8uhNM&feature=related
(you should feel your butt start to burn - watch out that your knee doesn’t move in or out…do this by keeping your butt and abs tight throughout the entire movement.)
3. Ball Bridge
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxZOYylKPow
My only modification to her demo is to bring your butt to about an inch off the ground - knees, shoulder width apart - don’t let them bow in while you’re going through the movement.
Start with 1-2 sets of 12-15 repetitions on each side. Work up to 3 sets. **You WILL be sore after the first time doing these. **
Don’t EVER do this…unless you want to hang out with your PT or ATC for rehab.