ok in may i tore my hamstring running 60’s with my football team and it took like a month to feel better. Then a week after it was feeling good, we did sprints again, i tore it again in the same spot but not nearly as severe. and now today in august i was running 2x25m starts w/ 100sec rest. and 4x50m w/ 3min rest. on the 2nd 50 i could actually hear my hamstring tear! this is the worst pain iv ever fealt. and i was running pretty good too. on the first 50 i ran 6.00 from a standing start, and i was timing myself so it would be faster, then on the 2nd on when i tore my ham i ran 6.2. my question is, how long will it take to heel and what can i do to help speed up the process? in 3 weeks doubles days start in football and if i cant run im screwed for the season. PLEASE HELP!!!
Oh and i meant to say 50 YARDS. not meters.
What have you done as far as rehab is concerned? If possible, please list a comprehensive list of modalities and frequency.
It’s possible with each hamstring injury, that during the healing process scar tissue formed making your hamstrings more likely to pull again. Perhaps look into deep tissue therapy, such as A.R.T. (Active Release Treatment) to break down the scar tissue that has formed.
Iv never done any kind of rehab. My mom is too cheap to take me to some kind of sports rehab/massage place. Plus she think that because my doctor said to just stretch alot and do cross-training that that’s all i need to do, when my doctor isnt even a sports doctor. But im gonna try and talk her into taking me to some kind of sports doctor type thing.
and what is scar tissue on the muscle? ever since the first time it happened i couldnt stretch that ham as far and it was a little weaker.
Scar tissue is the body’s way of preventing further injury to the muscle. The problem is that it limits the way muscle fibers are connected and thus limiting their range of motion and strength.
So, when your pain is gone, and you’re back to sprinting, your
muscles lack the structure and strength to perform optimally.
Muscles are connected by myofascia tissue, and adhesions and scar tissue disrupt this fascia tissue connection, which is essential for muscles to work at their best.
From the time we are kids we start building adhesions and scar tissue, and if not rehabed properly, as we age we are more susceptible to decreased range of motion, and injuries.
Also make sure to train your hamstrings as hip extenors (rev. leg press or deadlifts) more so than knee flexors (leg curls). Try to aim
for a 1-to-1 strength ratio of your hamstrings to quads.
check out these A.R.T. sites:
http://www.activereleasetechnique.com/art.html
http://www.drabelson.com/ARTPage.htm
http://www.activerelease.ca/
Also read about
ART would be very beneficial, as would deep tissue massage.
Great links hank! Some good stuff there…
don’t let your mother be too cheap, it’s essential to at least get massaged! in the winter season, i irritated my hamstring so much that i couldn’t walk for three days right before one of the biggest competitions of the season. i took massive amounts of ibuprofen and got massaged, allowing me to work through pain and have one of my best performances of the season. however, it was a huge risk, and without the massage and ice i very well could have injured it enough to be out for a month. i also find that it is much more susceptible to further injuries, it’s a good idea to stop the cycle now!
forgot to mention that hamstring lifts have been really important to me in keeping them healthy- i tend to do curls, up with both legs and slowly down with only one to mimic the braking motion that tends to injure hams. also stability ball ham curls work well, but i do those more on a physical therapy kind of scale.
thanks for alll the info guys.
Good information. Thanks for the links.
I think Charlie hit the nail on head too with the deep tissue massage. My running was saved by massage and ended when the trainers at our college felt it was not necessary or practical.
I’ve got a young lady running for me that strained her ham in early April. Our school trainer told her to stretch and she’d be fine the next day - refused to do any massage, EMS, or anything. She came back the 2nd week of May and popped it pretty good. Here mom wouldn’t get her into a PT until last week when she strained it a third time, while messing around with a younger sister.
I hope to get her back for the spring season, but with the lack of support she is getting from our trainer, it could be tough.
What can you say about a group that claims that massage is useless? (Stupidity or laziness? You pick!)
Sorry to say it, but, with a few exceptions, trainers are about as useless as tits on a bull- unless you sprain your ankle.
I had enough experience with these “sheisskopts” over the years that I learned to do the therapy myself and cleaning up their messes in professional sport remains a part of my business.
Re Ham Curls
Kinda like trying to cure an issue that shouldn’t be there in the first place. The higher the hips- the less the stress on the lower ham (co-contraction). The ham’s principle strength requirement is as an EXTENSOR of the hip. There is considerable suspicion that heavy ham curls may lead to more problems than they cure.
So charlie, my mom is still refusing to get me a deep tissue massage or anything, she says that that is for full time athletes. I told her but she said shes not gonna pay for it. Would it be ok to have on of my friends just rub and massage it? or would that be too dangerous because they dont really know what theyre doing?
Hey trackrat, it sounds like the same thing is happening to me that is happeneing to ur girl. good luck with her.
You need to get massage from SOMEBODY. If you can’t pay, try a friend. It won’t get better unless you do something.
A friend might be a good idea, but maybe if they got a book from the library and is smart enough for you and that person to figure something out, id say maybe, but ask some massage therapist at a few places, it is normally relatively cheap, also, ask them about a friend doing it because of your financial constraints and see what they say… they can’t charge you for asking, and who knows, one might hook you up with a free session and you can ask that friend to stand in on it. When i get them done, it seems to be a pretty easy thing to do, but what do i know, i sleep through 90% of it.
when u get a deep tissue massage is it just like rubbing out a knot or what? i heard that ur suppose to work it really hard, even if it hurts. Help me out guys
also how much does a massage usually cost on average?
The cost might depend on the area and insurance you have. Most in my area of the country range from $45 - 65 per hour. My insurance will cover one per month for myself, but not all plans are that “generous?”