Pulled hamstring...Help

6 weeks, and it's not significantly better? I'd go see a medical professional about this, just to see what all is going on. Sure, resting and trying to take care of it was fine. But I wouldn't think a brisk walk after 6 weeks should cause too much of a problem. Hopefully, just a little more time is required.

Have you injured that hamstring before? What was the activity you were doing when injurying it? Did you do any active rehab for it at all?

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Sounds like a hamstring strain, which is a tear. Was their bruising of your hamstring or behind your knee after? When I strained mine (first time was after turning 40), it took me a good 3 months with regular rehabbing to get it somewhat normal again. It can heal on it's own, but there are certain movements you should do to help reduce scar tissue and also work on improving the flexibility in the hamstring.
Also once it's healed, you NEED to do hamstring work. A pull is happens because the opposing muscle (quadriceps) is much stronger. You need to try to balance strength out equally to avoid it from happening again.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

ninerbuff wrote: »

A pull is happens because the opposing muscle (quadriceps) is much stronger.

It can also happen from being overly tight and/or overworked. A cramp can trigger the pull in some cases (speaking from experience).

I've always continued training through my hamstring pulls/tears and recovered extremely quick.

If you were doing a slow jog and it was still extremely painful, then maybe cycling is an option?

Just resting could be problematic as mentioned above. Scar tissue can allow reinjured to happen quite easily.

Barbell deadlifts with a very good warm up has done wonders with mine over the decades. If you have experience with them, even just the bar can be helpful.

crystalbuxton34 wrote: »

I hurt it doing sprints. However I was training pretty hard so maybe a combination of both.

fwiw, my trainer is a track/runner type and mentioned recently that sprinting on flat ground is one of the 'easiest' ways he's seen unprepared runners pick up hamstring injuries, over the years. realise it's not much use now, but perhaps for the future.

also mention that it came up because one of the other women in 'my' lifting club is a serious runner and did something similar. your story may be totally different but apparently when she found a specialist type of physiotherapist she learned that the problem was actually some kind of hip-muscle issue. it just felt like a hamstring because hips are a nuisance that way. she seems to be making progress but again . . . that's only relevant in the sense of 'perhaps a sports therapist would be a good idea'.

I'm healing from a hamstring sprain (or possibly strain) myself. I was told after the initial week of rest to do as much activity as I could without pain. I'm 20 days in and can walk fine for short flat distances, ride a recumbent bike, and can even do a decent amount of yoga (nothing forward bending or hamstring focused, though). I'm getting a little better every day, but certain things are still very painful/impossible. As long as I keep improving, I'm happy. I expect this to take several months, though. I'll go back in to see the doctor in a week or two and may get official PT at that point.

Hamstrings can become chronic. A PT can give you exercises that may help if there isn't a complete avulsion. Time is the biggest healer but that doesn't mean you can't do anything while it heals. A lot depends on the severity of the strain. One thing I learned, too late, is to stop doing regular hamstring stretches. Stretching a torn muscle can just make the tear worse.

I injured mine doing speed work with runners that were much faster than I. I pushed hard so I wouldn't be left too far behind. It took 18 months before I could run without any pain. OTOH, I was able to run during that 18 months, I just had to keep the pace slow. I also avoided hills as much as possible for the first few weeks. I ran a marathon about 6 months after my injury and had only one long run cut short because of pain. Obviously, everybody is different. About a year after the injury I finally went to a PT to get some help because I was tired of the intermittent pain. The exercises he gave me, plus some I had found on the internet, finally did the trick. Now, my hamstring on the other side is giving me intermittent trouble. Time to go back to the exercises.