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Track and field is one of the world's most strenuous sports -- and that's if you're a kid. Age-groupers like us are even more at risk of serious injury.

How do we prevent and recover from the nearly inevitable ouchies?

My experience is instructive. In August 1998, at the first Orono national masters championships in Maine, I broke my ankle while avoiding a falling hurdle in the 400s. A year later, after religiously following PT orders, I was back competing at the 1999 world WAVA meet in Gateshead, England.

Now it's your turn. What happened to your (leg, arm, back --- fill in the blank)? And how did you overcome this setback?

Be detailed and specific -- since your injury may echo what others are facing now. Also feel free to ask questions, since it's likely someone on this forum has dealt with the same struggle.

About 6 weeks before the recent championships in Charlotte, I had developed a nagging soreness in my upper left hamstring. Rather than listen to my body and back off a bit from training, I pushed it and on a cool Monday afternoon I felt a "twang" as I cleared a hurdle. The next day I had bruising on the back of my thigh, I couldn't sit down comfortably, and I could walk slowly...but run? Ha. I had 6 weeks to rehab this beast.

Hamstring pulls generally result from tight or weak hamstrings, or both! My hams were flexible enough but my weight training had resulted in quads that were approx. twice as strong as the hams. A more acceptable ration is 3:2 quads to hams. What to do?

Ice, of course. Then gentle stretching, visiting a massage therapist who gradually then aggressively stretched me out, and finally starting up with the weights. I did ham curls religiously, but started off with a very modest weight. And although I maintained my quad extension weight, I was no longer building. My hams had to catch up. And no sprinting for a month. When I was ready to sprint I didn't burst out of the blocks but instead accelerated gradually to a 60 - 80 meter sprint, then a gradual slowdown.

I wasn't 100% at Charlotte...I felt the ham grab a bit during the 100 meter final which caused me to ease up at the end of the race. I pulled out of the 200 in order to rest the ham. However I've still been gradually increasing my weight lift ratio for these two muscle groups and I'm very close to the 3:2 that I mentioned. I believe this will help prevent future injuries of this kind.

Best of luck and happy training.

I was unfortunate enough to break my foot while hurdling at the Charlotte Nationals. It was broken in three places, in three different ways. Surgery had to wait until I returned home. After informing the surgeeon of my long-term goal of returning to competiiton, he checked around and perfomed a procedure that did not involve screws or plates. I believe that communicating my strong desire to "run fast" and not just return to "normal" activities, made the difference. I am now in the middle of a two year plan to return to hurdling. I tried a bit of Long Jumping and sprinting last year and was very pleased with the results. Give me another year, and I will once again be skimming those hurdles with abandon.

In 2005 with 2 weeks before the indoor championship I pulled a ligament in my foot training. I went to see the PT and he worked with me everyday during that 2 week period to get me ready. I was scheduled to compete in the 60m, 200m LJ. I placed 3rd in the LJ and 5th in the 60. I made to the finals of the 200 put the ankle could not take any more abuse. I limped my way to the plane with my medal in hand. Thank God for rehab

Roger,
I scratched from the hurdles at Charlotte and remember well watching your collision with the hurdle that brought you to the track and I remember your brave finish. I was pleased to see you way up the long jump list this past season as I took it as a sign of recovery. Didn't realize you broke the foot. Bravo on your comeback. Look forward to seeing you in Spokane.
Bill Pontius

Bill,

Thanks for the kind words. I am afraid that I completed the race on pure adrenaline which overrode my good sense. If I had known just how bad the injury was, I certainly would not have finished the race. Yes, I was extremely pleased with my LJ last year. I just want to give myself one more year of strength and balance preparation before going back to the hurdles. The hurdles are such a demanding event, I would not want to come back without being fully prepared.....so if I make my way up to Spokane, it will be in the LJ and (possibly) sprints only.

After Indoor Worlds at Kamloops I went skiing and reinjured an old fracture point in my neck. Ran again the next week at Nationals and came home in severe pain which escalated over the next few weeks. MRI after 13 weeks of insurance run around finally led to ACDF surgery in june with a titanium plate and six screws securing C5, C6 and C7, and disc replacement with allografts between the vertebra. I still can't run fast but I am finally jogging on the golf course. It will be december or january before I know whether the bone grafts are solid enough to start hurdling again. Has anyone out there had this surgery and have you been able to compete at the same level afterwards. I am beginning to have my doubts as there is still pain in the upper back and shoulders and numbness in the hand. At least the shooting hot pain is gone but I am dying to get back in shape. Anyone out there have experience to share with a similar injury?

Groin tear at the Adductor Longus. This is not a very common injury where the tendon portion of the adductor tries to pull away from the pubis bone. In a nut shell after the fact it was a tight psoas major(felt like sore lower back) that tripped the imbalance to injury. There is not a lot of good advice on the healing process even in the medical community but found a orthopedic group that uses the NFL rehab protocol.

No surgery
Count on pool work for 3-4 weeks
Cycling and gym 4-12 weeks
9th week walk and jog fartlek

That where I'm at now. Outlook is running extended aerobic runs 10 weeks from the point I can run 15 mins straight without discomfort. Then speed work can be considered.

This is about double what a Nfl rehab plan time frame is.

I'm just turning 55 and can re state the obvious listen to your body and get the lower core area imbalances fixed before 90 percent effort speed work. Sport massages I felt were a little to self indulgent for a family man but noe feel it could have saved me from this. A stick and foam roller can not solve it all.

Walkthetalk: How did it happen in the first place? Was it sudden or gradual onset?

Fidel it was sudden and I hit the track during interval training. I had a bad hamstring pull in college in 1979 and again in 2001. This is more uncomfortable to heal the first few weeks.

If you look at an anatomy diagram and see how the psoas major inserts and the surrounding groin muscles you can see the relationship. I had been able to warm up diligently in June and most of July to get the back loose. I had just come off a 5 day driving vacation which I think tipped things against me on the workout I got hurt.

Rehab guy emphasized how many things hook up to the upper and lower pubis bone area. Presently the lower abs are the last thing that are a bit annoying while jogging. I had a gym trainer this winter and spring and felt all the bases have been covered and was quite lean and strong in July but things go awry. If you have more questions email me at walkthetalk400@aol.com