I pulled my hamstring last week and the trainer said it was minor. I went to my family doctor and he said he didn't think I needed rehab. I looked it up on google and I'm almost positive I have a grade 1 pull.
I can walk, go up the stairs, do unweighted squats and hamstring curls, and jog slowly without any pain whatsoever. However, I can't touch my toes which I usually can do very easily and I can't sprint because my hamstring is very tight and there's a slight pain.
My question is, if I can walk, go up the stairs, do unweighted squats and hamstring curls, and jog slowly without any pain at all, how much longer until I fully recover so I can start sprinting again?
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Well this site really isn't about giving medical advice as none of us have actually physically evaluated you. I would suggest you discuss this with your athletic trainer at your school as they would be able to give you the best determination as to when you can begin running again.
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Your doctor has forgotten the possibility that you might not possess the innate knowledge to do what is necessary at the right time in your recovery in order to achieve optimal recovery in a timely fashion. Your doctor knows some about how these things heal, and is assuming that you will be fine without any directed program. Sometimes health care professionals see someone with a simple injury and wrongfully assume that no structured rehab is needed.
The bottom line is that you would likely do better, or at least feel better about what you are doing to get better, if you had an evaluation, education and instruction/training on a progressive program over the course of 2-6 weeks, that you could do on your own, with perhaps 1 follow up visit, if that.
In the absence of any other pathology, have your trainer look at: Michael T Cibulka, Steven J Rose, Anthony Delitto, and David R Sinacore Hamstring Muscle Strain Treated by Mobilizing the Sacroiliac Joint Physical Therapy 1986 66: 1220-1223." This seems to work well as a kick start for HS rehab. Makes sense from a biomechanical perspective ,too.
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You may want to focus your strengthening exercises to proper glut/buttock firing. Most hamstring pulls I see are from muscle imbalances where the pt most likely used too much hamstrings and not enough gluts for hip extension when running. I usually test this with a prone straight leg raise and see which muscle fires first (gluts should fire first or nearly at the same time of hs). I also test this with a bridge with knee extension test. If after 10 secs in this position your hs feels like it's going to cramp, your gluts are most likely inhibited and your hs have taken over for hip extension.
The above article is interesting. However, not everyone can be mobilized/maniped. Thus you may want to try glut squeezes (isometric) while performing a posterior pelvic tilt (flattening your back). This allows you to incorporate your core with your gluts and can take a lot of stress off your hamstrings.
Hamstring strains are both common and painful and mainly target athletes of all sorts. Hamstring is group of three muscles that run along the back of your thigh. They allow you to bend your leg at the knee. The muscles get stretched up and cause strains. Major cause of this is that you don't warm up and stretch before exercising or may be if you are a teenager likely to go through a growth spurt. One simple treatment is to give rest to the leg and icing should be done daily at regular interval to reduce pain and swelling. If Keep anti-inflammatory painkillers with you in case of emergency. Practice stretching and strengthening exercises if your doctor recommends them. Strengthening your hamstrings is the best protection against hamstring strain.
It's been almost 5 years since you posted this thread, I just want to know if your injury had healed? I'm just curious about what did you do and what procedure/steps? did you do.
< Message edited by chicago101 -- November 19, 2013 1:05:45 AM >
For a Grade 1 strain it takes 2-3 weeks to get over it. So even though you'll be feeling great by week 3, you won't be able to sprint short distances for 4-6 weeks because the hamstring heals slowly. And for longer distances it will take 6-8 weeks to be back closer to 100%. If it was a Grade 2 or 3 strain, it could take 3-4 months which is why pro athletes often miss the rest of the season if they suffer a bad hamstring pull.
< Message edited by CardioFlex Therapy -- April 18, 2018 12:00:57 AM >
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