strained hamstring?

etarre

Hi folks--

I'm looking for some advice on what's probably a minor injury. I go to the gym regularly, and do a lot of cycling, ellipticals, kickboxing, and some weight training. Last week, I noticed that something is going on with my right hamstring. It doesn't hurt while I'm working out, but when I try to stretch it, it does hurt, and my range of motion while I'm stretching is really limited. The pain is toward the top of my hamstring, probably 2/3 of the way up from my knee.

I've been taking it a little easy, and stretching it gently every day, but it hasn't really improved at all, and I'm wondering if anyone has had anything similar...and if I need to do something different to make sure it heals right, and that I don't make a minor injury into a serious one.

stroutman81

Hamstrings can be a bit tricky.

A common issue I see going on with my clients is something known as reciprocal inhibition.

This issue boils down to hip flexors being tight or overactive, which makes sense if you think about it. For most people who find themselves seated most of their days, they're flexors are in a chronically shortened or contracted position.

Reciprocal inhibition dictates that when you have a tight or overactive muscle, the "reverse" muscle will be inhibited or weak. While the flexors are, among other things, responsible for hip flexion, the opposing or reverse muscles responsible for hip extension would be your glutes.

So folks who have chronically tight flexors often times have weak glutes.

When glutes are weak, the muscles below and above them generally take on the workload of the glutes. This means your hamstrings can do more than their fair share and they, too, then can become tight.

A common indicator of this is frequent hamstring strains.

A good ortho or physio will be able to tell you if you're dealing with this issue. Or, a really good trainer would also be able to pick up on it. The thomas test is a great test for this. Supine hip bridges also are indicative.

If it's not this, you might simply have some "knots" in your hamstring tissues and a good chiro or physio who specializes in soft tissue myofascial release would do you wonders.

daniface

sounds like you have you do indeed have a minor hamstring pull! I had one myself a couple of weeks ago from a hard run combined with not warming up.

this might sound strange but just keep poking it and 'rubbing out' the sore spot, if you will. It's going to feel weird/hurt but it helps the blood circulate to that area. I kind of think it feels good, haha. You could also do hot/cold compresses to help speed up recovery. Streching is also helpful but only if your muscles are warm. so maybe a light warm up combined with a hot compress, some streching then do a cold compress for recovery.

i would definatly lay off the intensity for a little while until its feeling better. and make sure you're warming up properly in the future!

etarre

Thanks, Stroutman81 and daniface. I do have a desk job and sit quite a bit, and in general, I'm not very flexible at all, so you might be right about the hip flexors. I also looked up the Thomas test and found some additional information about hamstring pulls that suggested it's a common cycling overuse injury-- so maybe I've been doing a little too much in spin class. And I will make sure to warm up properly next time!

oats4breakfast

Some other things that can help you while you're healing (and for repetitive strains), regardless of reasons why the strain is there in the first place, are bengay/deepheat (smells alot) and support items like a thermoskin. If you were ever to go into a soccer/rugby/football/baseball etc changing room, either before or after a match, you'll see half the athletes with a thermoskin on somewhere, and your eyes will water from that smell (I think it's camphor or eucalyptus). Often, it's referred to as a "bomb" of some name.
The "RICE" works well for when injuries initially occur, but as time goes on, I believe heat helps the tenderness and recovery.

etarre

Thanks for the suggestions-- if it doesn't stop bothering me soon, I'll have to look for one of these. Would a regular drugstore have thermoskin? I'm not familiar with it...maybe I haven't spent enough time in 'real' sports changing rooms!

oats4breakfast

I'm not sure if a regular drugstore, like CVS or Walgreens, would carry a thermoskin specifically - it may be a down under thing and in the US it's called something else. They may have thigh/hamstrings supports though. It's basically a tight fitting item made out of wetsuit material that keeps your muscle warm and supported while you exercise.
Bengay etc is definately at CVS.
Point to Note: Bengay will heat up your skin. So, if you rub bengay on, then immediately put on a "thermoskin" (or even a sock if it's on your ankle/foot) it can get really uncomfortable real fast. Allow time for it to breath ... like 20-30 minutes before covering it up.

etarre

Oh! OK...I've totally seen athletes wear thermoskin on TV, and I know what you're talking about. I should be able to find something similar even if it's got a different brand name here. Thanks for explaining...