Lower leg swelling after hamstring injury

[tarmacjay]

I strained my hamstring 3 weeks ago and have only recently been able to climb stairs and get back on my bicycle. Much of the upper leg bruised for maybe a week. Now I have swelling in the calf and ankle that actually feels better after a bike ride and/or elevation of the leg. Am I safe to really start exercising again?

[Heidi]

Yes but you should try to really get rid of this swelling. Elevation ice and compression should do it.

[stevendavis79]

As a runner I am no stranger to hamstring injuries. They can really limit you movement if you pull or tear one of your hamstring muscles. The best thing you can do to treat a hamstring injury is to prevent it from happening in the first place. One way to protect yourself is by stretching your hamstrings out before you participate in a sport. The only thing I have used to treat this type of injury is to limit the amount of exercise for a few days to weeks and use ice packs to help with the pain and swelling.