Please help me!! Hamstring injury!

[Pottsy16]

Hi There,

This is my first post on what appears to be a very interesting forum. Could have done with this 18 months ago when I injured my groin!!

Ok, here goes with the injury....I play football (soccer) on a regular basis and try to run/jog etc.. every now and again. I'm fit and healthy and have just recently started to swim for the first time in aaaggess. I haven't gone made, just a few 30 min sessions of breast stroke and nothing more.

A day after a football session last week my right hamstring area felt a bit tight toward the buttock end of the muscle group. I proceeded to swim later on in the week where It didn't hurt as such but I could still feel that it was tight. As the week has progressed i've noticed a dull aching when i sit down and it feels a bit tight still when I drive.

The bizarre thing to me is that I can still run on it, and still play football with no real pain while no real pain is felt when my knee is bent against resistance, but I can feel that something isn't right and really don't want to be out of the game for too long so I don't want to make whatever it is worse. It doesn't appear to be a conventional pulled hamstring. If anyone can give me any ideas as to what's wrong I'd really, really appreciate it.

[Heidi]

Hi,

I have been experiencing exactly the same symptoms in the run up to my first half-marathon. Initially I though the obvious, that it must be hamstring related. However, after a couple of massages, lots of stretching and not being able to find a tender spot to touch I thought it must be something else.

Turns out its my Piriformis muscle in my buttock which has tightened up (still not sure why, there can be several causes) and is impinging on my sciatic nerve. This then refers pain down the leg, in this case to the hamstrings.

You can find out a bit more about this muscle here:

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/back/buttocks/piriformis.htm

The way I have been treating it is with a foam roller (cylinder shaped length of dense foam) to massage it and stretches, which you can find linked to the page above.

So far so good. I just need to work out whats causing it now. Often things like, over-pronation, leg length differences and hip abductor weakness are to blame.

I hope this info helps you! Good luck!

[Pottsy16]

Hi Heidi,

At work last night I did feel pain in the right buttock. I've also consulted a few friends on the issue and some have suggested that the reasons you describe are the cause of the problems.

Now I think about what you've said, that is the only feasible diagnosis I've seen. I'm off to see a physio next week to get it checked properly and hopefully scanned but your advice and help in the meantime has really helped.

Thank you so Much

[chirogrant]

hi guys,

i am a chiropractor, so we look at things a little differently to conventional docs/physios...

have you had your lower back/pelvis looked at??? you may have pelvic misalignment....due to the attachment of the piriformis and hamstring muscles, the lower lumbar spine and sacro-iliac joint may locked up or not moving properly hence irritating the sciatic nerve and or muscles that attach to the sacrum/pelvis/lumbar spine....

get it checked out....you always check your wheel alignment and balancing when you put new tyres on your cars dont you???