For some reason my hamstrings tissue quality never seems to improve (I have lots of hard bumps, particularly as I get closer to the knee/calf - both legs - top portion is quite smooth) despite me foam/hockey ball rolling them just as much if not more than my quads, calves etc. which all feel smooth (no significant bumps). It’s been particularly noticable this week after returning to GPP training in the last 2 weeks (I haven’t done much speed work and my weights have been low volume as usual, but I’ve been doing a lot of tempo running - increasing the volume progressively).
My hamstrings don’t feel excessively tight (normal ROM), but sometimes when I apply pressure to some of the knots/balls in the muscle with my finger, I get a very small sensation of pain, however most the time I don’t feel any pain.
I had 2 grade 2 hamstring pulls in the middle of the year both left leg and some minor issues with my right just after.
Is this a problem and if so what can I do about it?
Get treatment.
Sounds like alot of knotting and Trigger Points that need attention. See if you can get a very good massage therapist or ART guy to work on you and ease out the bumps.
It’s not uncommon to have good flexibility and TP’s either.
yeah, not all that likely, needs a lot of different conditions to combine for it to occur, however i think that everyone agrees “It´s never Lupus”
(just an odd House quote), but the unlikeliness of the calcium deposits is significant. a simple xray should rule that out, the calcium deposits because of the greater density of the calcium and it’s mineral nature, they should just jump out at you in an xray, much more radioopaque than the surrounding muscle tissue.
Massage…massage…massage. I can’t reiterate this any more. Good quality,regular deep massage. Oh and contrast showers too. I was lucky enough to get a massage before and after training on both speed and tempo days…made a MASSIVE difference to the tone and quality of hams,quads and calves.
I wish I could get DT massages more often, but unfortunately I’m on a student income and which makes it hard enough to get once per month let alone weekly.
I’ve tried self massage but I’m not really sure how much pressure I should be applying? I did it once a bit too deep I think (used back of a pen/one finger to work the knots) and it felt sore/inflamed the next day.
Also, how would contrast showers help muscle tone? I thought it was just a blood flow/waste removal technique?
I agree with no23!
Then…
Try to buy a foam roller and a jacknobber or a baseball/tennis ball, for TP treatment.
Search books of clair davies, bonnie prudden, marc coseo, art riggs, ann frederick for make an idea on soft tissue (self) treatments.