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Hamstring pull for a sprinter/hurdler
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Author:  lpalmer [ Tue Sep 12, 2006 8:56 am ]
Post subject:  Hamstring pull for a sprinter/hurdler
(I originally posted this as a reply to another post when I realized that it needed its own topic.)

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.

Liz Palmer W45 :D
Author:  leigh [ Sat Nov 11, 2006 10:53 am ]
Post subject: 
I think I've got a similar situation in the hamstring as Liz, but I'm in the nagging ache stage. What do I do as far as training and injury prevention together. I'm really trying to listen to the body but hate to miss the workouts. Is backing off doing crosstraining instead, light jogging, easing up on the scheduled workouts or what. I know to ice,stretch, massage etc but what about the running part. Any advice is really appreciated
Author:  lpalmer [ Mon Nov 13, 2006 12:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Nagging Ache stage
Leigh, I did cross training to keep up my aerobic capacity. I mainly swam and used the elliptical machine which didn't seem to stress it. I didn't run or even jog for a minimum of 3 weeks. It's hard to wait, but you can't push it or else you're asking for another one down the road. Hope you are feeling better soon!
Author:  polehopper [ Sun Dec 31, 2006 5:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Hamstring injury prevention
One of the things I try to do is avoid hamstring curls. I think a better exercise for this, especially for those prone to pulls are either straight legged deadlifts or romanian deadlifts. With these two lifts you actually stress a lengthening muscle as it contracts.
With curls you stress a shortening muscle. Be prepared for soreness up where the ham inserts with the glut if you're doing the exercise properly. Be careful not to use to much back in performing this movement. Keep the head and chin up, chest high and do not round the back. Force the effort to the lower extremities.

Good luck
Author:  tql [ Sat Feb 17, 2007 9:47 am ]
Post subject:  hamstring recovery-how long to wait?
I pulled it about a week ago. I have been trying to stretch a little and cross training on the elipical machine which doesn't seem to bother it. Nothing I am doing now makes it hurt and it is a dull pain at most. A few days ago my wife noticed what looked like a big bruise behind my kneecap-so it must be blood pooling from the injury.
Question is-if the area doesn't hurt is it still ok to exercise the leg or should I just layoff for a while-I usually let pain be my guide (there isn't any) but the blood pooling is making me wonder.
Author:  lpalmer [ Sat Feb 17, 2007 10:28 am ]
Post subject:  bruising
Hi--re the blood pooling: a therapist told me that since blood will move downward due to gravity the area of the actual injury is probably directly above the blood. You have some small tears. I had the bruising too and it scared me at first. But since I was still walking and jogging I figured it wasn't as bad as it looked. Ice it religiously! I had to sit on a pillow because the pressure on the ham hurt me.

The blood is a sign that you do have small tears but if you're using the elliptical you shouldn't be too bad. It depends upon the size and darkness of the bruise. Pain level should guide you.
Author:  Riddle [ Sun Apr 08, 2007 9:00 am ]
Post subject: 
I have a chronic problem in my right hamstring. I agree with deadlifts being effective, I do heavy dumbbells from a deadlift position. I also agree with Liz. It is imperative to do more hamstring weight exercises and work toward a balance between guad and ham. Most athletes are much stronger in the quads as a result of run training and then they head for the gym and do quad lifts!!.... but no ham lifts.
I have been able to overcome the chronic ham problem by more concentration on hamstring lifting (quad lifting has also been eliminated) and remembering to do preventive icing after hard training.
Author:  NMTraxter [ Wed Apr 11, 2007 6:17 am ]
Post subject: 
The bruising and "blood pooling" on the back of the leg is a very common occurrence with a pulled muscle. There may even be some slight soreness when one rubs the bruise. The bruise will turn a yellowish color as it is absorbed by the body, and will eventually disappear.

The pulled (or torn) muscle may indeed be in a different location from the bruise, and is usually higher up. The torn muscle will bleed and the blood will often migrate outwards till it is just under the skin. How bad the tear is will often determine how bad the bruise appears. In my sprinting days I've had a black bruise showing from my mid hamstring to below my knee joint into the calf and 4 or more inches wide.

In addition to starting back with easy training, I would recommend taking a lot of vitamin E, as it will aid in preventing scar tissue from forming. As you progress in recovery training you will often experience pain at the site of the tear as the lesions and scar tissue formed by the body's repair of the torn muscle is stretched. The problem then is one of "is it a normal pain as the injury site is stressed and stretched, or am I tearing the muscle again?" Four to six weeks is the usual healing period for a young sprinter, and it may be much longer for us old folks. Much depends on the severity of the tear.

Vitamin B may also help as it is supposed to aid the body's reaction to stress.
Author:  lpalmer [ Wed Apr 11, 2007 8:35 am ]
Post subject:  Hamstring relief
I have gotten a lot of relief from ART massage from my chiropractor. Supposed to break up and release adhesions from scar tissue. It seems to work very well for me.
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