Post-Injury Running Preparation?

abmikell

Hi all,

So about two years ago, while playing soccer, I tore through a hamstring pretty badly. Due a variety of factors (such as an incompetent doctor who refused to actually examine it, and starting physiotherapy too late) it didn't heal very well, and I've got rather thick scar tissue that has built up over the tendon. After the accident I was forced to quit both soccer and dance, and while I've tried to keep up with my exercise through activities that don't affect my knees too much, I've obviously lost a huge amount of muscle and am no where close to the state I was before. So, as this summer approaches, I'm hoping to try to get into running.

Previous attempts at getting going with this have led to a fair bit of pain and some injuries, so I'm hoping to get some advice from people who have experienced similar injuries. I get that since its been almost two years I'm pretty much completely past the point of full recovery, but I'd like to get as close as possible. At the moment I'm doing light dance and stretches daily, and soon will be using the elliptical since there's less impact on my knees.

Any exercises, plans, etc. would be really appreciated!

DangerJim71

I had a pretty badly torn hamstring about 14 months ago although probably not as severe as yours by the sounds of it. After PT and some time off running I did short runs of 2-3 painful miles alternating with days of cycling and swimming. The cycling was a great low impact way to build strength which helped in the recovery. All this of course within the guidelines set by my doc.