hamstring strain

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   Our user asked: "I'm a runner, female, 39. I switched my routine in August and after about a week I noticed that my hamstrings were sore. Instead of stopping I continued to run everyday (7 miles) until the beginning of November when I finally accepted the fact that my hamstrings were not getting better and were in fact much worse; I had pain when I sprinted, went upstairs or sat in a chair. I decided to stop running and exercising completely, except for static hamstring stretches,for four weeks. After one day of exercising again (treadmill walking only and some mild calisethenics)my hamstrings were worse than ever. I again stopped for another week and then started exercising again, this time working through the pain. As of now, I can walk for about 15 minutes at 3.2 mph and do some hamstring strenghtening exercises but I don't seem to be improving at all. I have to take a day off between my exercise days because of the soreness and pain. While I am walking on the treadmill there is no pain at first but then towards the end there is pain and I stop. I live in a rural area and it would be very difficult for me to see a physical therapist on a regular basis. My questions are: is it normal for healing to take so long? did I cause a chronic injury by jogging with pain for 3 months? is there something i can do on my own to properly rehab my hamstrings? Thanks"

Ask a PT Response: "I was wondering what you did in regards to changing your routine which led to your injury? A hamstring strain can be a tricky injury to recover from. This is a common injury for professional athletes and even with the extensive rehab that they undergo, the recovery time can still be quite long. Continuing to aggravate the hamstring after you have strained it could result in an even longer recovery time. For my patients who have sustained a hamstring strain, I will have them avoid activities which would irritate their hamstring. I would incorporate activities and exercises which would allow the patient to gradually return to prior activity level (ie. bike -> treadmill walking -> elliptical -> running). Strengthening and stretching exercises are also performed by my patients. With almost all my patients, they display increase tissue tension and tissue irritability at the hamstring. Trigger points (tender points) are almost always found at the hamstrings. This often requires some form of manual therapy or modality to be performed by the therapist in order to decrease the tissue irritability and improve the tissue pliability. In your situation, I would probably guess you would continue to have some tissue irritability and increase tension at your hamstring which could limit your ability to fully recover from your injury. Given that your injury occurred last August and you continue to aggravate it, my suggestion to you would be to consult with a PT at least once, so that he or she can determine if you truly do have a hamstring strain and to see what may be contributing to your inability to recover from your injury. The therapist will then be able to develop a plan of care and a home exercise program tailored specifically based on his or her findings. You could probably than follow up with the therapist on a limited basis since it is difficult for you to attend therapy sessions. I hope this helps and good luck with your recovery."

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Ask a PT Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: Jul 07 2008 Status: Offline Points: 954	Post Options Post Reply Quote Ask a PT Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: hamstring strain Posted: Jan 14 2009 at 1:40pm
	Our user asked: "I'm a runner, female, 39. I switched my routine in August and after about a week I noticed that my hamstrings were sore. Instead of stopping I continued to run everyday (7 miles) until the beginning of November when I finally accepted the fact that my hamstrings were not getting better and were in fact much worse; I had pain when I sprinted, went upstairs or sat in a chair. I decided to stop running and exercising completely, except for static hamstring stretches,for four weeks. After one day of exercising again (treadmill walking only and some mild calisethenics)my hamstrings were worse than ever. I again stopped for another week and then started exercising again, this time working through the pain. As of now, I can walk for about 15 minutes at 3.2 mph and do some hamstring strenghtening exercises but I don't seem to be improving at all. I have to take a day off between my exercise days because of the soreness and pain. While I am walking on the treadmill there is no pain at first but then towards the end there is pain and I stop. I live in a rural area and it would be very difficult for me to see a physical therapist on a regular basis. My questions are: is it normal for healing to take so long? did I cause a chronic injury by jogging with pain for 3 months? is there something i can do on my own to properly rehab my hamstrings? Thanks" Ask a PT Response: "I was wondering what you did in regards to changing your routine which led to your injury? A hamstring strain can be a tricky injury to recover from. This is a common injury for professional athletes and even with the extensive rehab that they undergo, the recovery time can still be quite long. Continuing to aggravate the hamstring after you have strained it could result in an even longer recovery time. For my patients who have sustained a hamstring strain, I will have them avoid activities which would irritate their hamstring. I would incorporate activities and exercises which would allow the patient to gradually return to prior activity level (ie. bike -> treadmill walking -> elliptical -> running). Strengthening and stretching exercises are also performed by my patients. With almost all my patients, they display increase tissue tension and tissue irritability at the hamstring. Trigger points (tender points) are almost always found at the hamstrings. This often requires some form of manual therapy or modality to be performed by the therapist in order to decrease the tissue irritability and improve the tissue pliability. In your situation, I would probably guess you would continue to have some tissue irritability and increase tension at your hamstring which could limit your ability to fully recover from your injury. Given that your injury occurred last August and you continue to aggravate it, my suggestion to you would be to consult with a PT at least once, so that he or she can determine if you truly do have a hamstring strain and to see what may be contributing to your inability to recover from your injury. The therapist will then be able to develop a plan of care and a home exercise program tailored specifically based on his or her findings. You could probably than follow up with the therapist on a limited basis since it is difficult for you to attend therapy sessions. I hope this helps and good luck with your recovery."

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