hamstring pulled/torn, how long should I stay off it?

victoriavoodoo

I recently spent 6 months in and out of casts and walking boots from breaking my foot, and just got cleared to work out again 2 weeks ago so I've been going at it daily with a vengeance. I do some cardio to wake up then alternate upper/lower body days with the machines.

Today I couldn't get through more than 5 minutes of cardio before throbbing pain started in my thigh with each stride on the elliptical. Like, both legs were the good kind of sore from yesterday's leg day but it quickly became apparent that that leg also has some bad pain, in the hamstring area I believe.

I stopped cardio and went ahead and did arm stuff and walking to my car was hard and now it's throbbing while elevated on the couch. Is there anything I can do to speed up healing? Or anything i should avoid? I'm going to take tomorrow off from the gym completely.

CarsonRuns

Is there bruising?

You need to do RICE. Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.

If you see any bruising, you need to get to a doctor because there is probably a tear.

victoriavoodoo

I don't see bruising, so that's good =] just painful limping lol, the stairs to my apartment were pretty awful

thanks for the advice, I will try to do RICE.

victoriavoodoo

This may be a better question for your physician.

I don't have one in the summer, the student health center is only free for actively enrolled students and I didn't do summer school this year.

I'm on my mom's insurance and it didn't cover breaking my foot so probably wouldn't cover "my leg hurts"

bumblebums

If it isn't a full tear (and you would know if it was), I don't think a doctor can do much for you anyway.

I had a partial ligament tear at the upper attachment site of a hamstring several years ago. I happened during a yoga class and I felt several pops when it did, so there was no mistaking it. What I did was follow the advice in this article:

http://www.yogajournal.com/for_teachers/985

The Cliff's notes version: it takes a long time to recover before you can return to your pre-injury activities; you do need to be proactive to prevent the formation of bad scar tissue, and never ever stretch a torn ligament (or muscle for that matter). Also, during the recovery phase, practice eccentric contractions--the kind where the muscle is long under contraction rather than short.