Pulled hamstring?

[bostonmichelle]

I definitely pulled my hamstring over the last week and a half. It has been cranky and tight and sore since I did a trail race a week and a half ago. I was feeling better last night so I went to track. Big mistake! I did warm ups and it was a bit tight but loosening up so I went and did my first 400 meter (which I PR'd at 90 seconds) but after I could barely walk so I walked and stretched it out and just hung with the coach and helped him run practice. I'm going to call out sick today from work because I need to ice it and don't have ice at work plus it hurts when I'm sitting or lying down.

When would you see a doctor about this? I only have a regular doctor.

Any help with stretches or home remedies to help the pain? I've been icing and foam rolling and stretching. I found one of my dog's toy balls and have been using that too since foam rolling isn't the best.

[clseale]

If it's a fairly recent strain, I would do RICE w/a side of anti inflammatory, and lay off of the stretching for a bit. Think of it this way, if you pulled it, you're in pain because your muscle as been over stretched. No need to stretch it any further. After that, gentle stretching and strengthening exercises have worked for me...but in these types of threads, I like to page hannahb. Obviously my experience might not be the same for you.

ETA: I hope it feels better soon!!

[hannahb]

High hamstring or lower? Not that it makes a huge difference early on but high hamstring pulls can be more difficult to treat. I would recommend ice and gentle isometrics (bend your knee and keep your heel on the ground, then gently push into the ground. Hold 5-10 seconds, repeat 10 times) initially and hold on aggressive stretching or massaging. If it's a lower hamstring issue (think muscle belly) it will take some time but you should be able to ease back into activity on your own. If it's a high hamstring injury I would suggest getting into PT earlier vs later. High hamstring injuries can pull your sacrum out of alignment and therefore take longer to heal if you don't address it early
Hope this helps! Good luck

[Wines Not Whines]

I stained my hamstring in January, so I feel your pain. Not to scare you, but mine still isn't 100% better. It's not actively painful, but I still get twinges sometimes.

I would stop stretching. That's just going to irritate it more. Ice, rest, and ibuprofen should help. I saw an ortho when mine wasn't better after about 3 weeks and I realized it wasn't getting better on its own. He recommended some exercises, in an addition to what I was already doing.

[clseale]

Oct 29, 2014 7:40:33 GMT -5 hannahb said:

High hamstring or lower? Not that it makes a huge difference early on but high hamstring pulls can be more difficult to treat. I would recommend ice and gentle isometrics (bend your knee and keep your heel on the ground, then gently push into the ground. Hold 5-10 seconds, repeat 10 times) initially and hold on aggressive stretching or massaging. If it's a lower hamstring issue (think muscle belly) it will take some time but you should be able to ease back into activity on your own. If it's a high hamstring injury I would suggest getting into PT earlier vs later. High hamstring injuries can pull your sacrum out of alignment and therefore take longer to heal if you don't address it early
Hope this helps! Good luck

This is exactly what happened to me, but I didn't want to scare you, bostonmichelle. Of course, notice the earlier vs later advice. Mine was VERY high and I waited until I was in so much pain from the sacrum alignment issue that I could barely walk...AND my hamstring was seizing up even if I was sitting. 8 wks of PT. Don't do what I did. 

[bostonmichelle]

Thanks everyone! I'm going to have to check into PT. I'm feeling better today than I was yesterday but it definitely still hurts. I'd also rather hear the awful truth from you girls than push myself too hard and hurt myself even worse.

This is pretty much my first injury so I'm on the side of OMG I broke myself and I'm never going to run again if I don't go to the doctor right this instant. So I'm glad I'm not terribly far from crazy.

[venice2007]

Oct 29, 2014 7:50:35 GMT -5 clseale said:

Oct 29, 2014 7:40:33 GMT -5 hannahb said:

High hamstring or lower? Not that it makes a huge difference early on but high hamstring pulls can be more difficult to treat. I would recommend ice and gentle isometrics (bend your knee and keep your heel on the ground, then gently push into the ground. Hold 5-10 seconds, repeat 10 times) initially and hold on aggressive stretching or massaging. If it's a lower hamstring issue (think muscle belly) it will take some time but you should be able to ease back into activity on your own. If it's a high hamstring injury I would suggest getting into PT earlier vs later. High hamstring injuries can pull your sacrum out of alignment and therefore take longer to heal if you don't address it early
Hope this helps! Good luck

This is exactly what happened to me, but I didn't want to scare you, bostonmichelle. Of course, notice the earlier vs later advice. Mine was VERY high and I waited until I was in so much pain from the sacrum alignment issue that I could barely walk...AND my hamstring was seizing up even if I was sitting. 8 wks of PT. Don't do what I did. 

Me too. Waited too long, had 7 weeks of pt and no running and yoga due to my injury. My hip ended up outta line too abd horrible hamstring pain and I too could barely sit. If it's high or bad def see someone sooner than later

[ktzmoh]

YES to what others have said. High hamstring injuries are so common, so painful and should be treated right away. I had one earlier this year too and it was so hard to treat. 3 trips to the PT, plus 8 weeks off. For me it was a compound injury and my groin hurt like hell too, but my PT said it was almost certainly the result of the hamstring pulling everything off. It felt like death when she was working on me. Definitely go get it looked at and stop with the stretching until they say it's ok. Mine didn't really start healing until I stopped trying to stretch it out all the time.

This week, mine is feeling cranky too and I can definitely feel that something isn't right again. It's not painful at all to run yet, and I only feel it occasionally, but this time I am not messing around and I have an appointment tomorrow to have it worked on.

Mid to lower hamstring pain I've been able to manage quite well using this massage ball and self treat it when it feels tight.

[ktzmoh]

Came back to add that one thing I've noticed really helps me is that I keep a golf ball in my office desk. Not sure if you are in an office all day or not, but I am and the golf ball feels great on my upper hamstring. When I'm sitting in my chair, I place the golf ball right under a spot where it feels tight and just sit on it for a few minutes until it relaxes. This is the only way I've been able to effectively do any self-care on that area - the foam roller doesn't help as much up there.

[fluffycookie]

No advice, but I just wanted to say feel better!!

[bostonmichelle]

I found an ace bandage and am using it as a compression wrap at the moment. I also iced it this morning and feel so much better. I'm going to use a golf ball shortly when I go upstairs for lunch.