Knee pain & Hamstring Injury

[David116]

Hi,

In 2007 I started a strength building and sprinting program. At the end of 2007, I mildly strained both my left and right hamstring tendons while doing leg curls. I wasn't able to do leg curls again without pain, even after resting for a month, so I stopped doing them. I kept on doing squats, deadlifts and sprinting and they were ok.

Around April of 2008, I started to notice some pain in my knees when turning sharply. Then one night I sat down in a couch, got up and I couldn't walk without pain. I saw some physios who didn't help, and eventually one that said I have a patellofemoral dysfunction and I need to stretch my hamstrings, ITB and calves. I did my stretches every day but my flexibility never improved. Eventually I strained my hamstring tendons again doing explosive movements in the gym. I lost a lot more flexibility and my knee pain became worse. As a result, I lost a lot of strength as well.

Now my knee pain is very bad; I can't straighten my leg when lying down or standing. I had an MRI of the knee and an ultrasound of my hamstrings: both looked normal, with no sign of a tear or damage. I'm pretty sure my inflexibility is the problem. I can barely get my hands past my knees in a forward bend. But no matter how much stretching I do, I can't increase my hamstring flexibility. They might improve for a few hours or a day, but they always go back to the same level.

Does anyone know of possible reasons for this and what to do about it?

Thanks,

David

[Heidi]

Hi
I think you may be right that the whole problem is caused by muscle imbalances around the knee. This is usually the cause of patellofemoral pain. It may even be affected by problems in the hip and calf/ankle, as the joints above and below can contribute.

My advice would be to carry on stretching, several times a day if possible and to add in some sports massage. You will find this works wonders.

Correcting these imbalances will probably be the key. The most common imbalance is for these muscles to be tight:
hamstrings, hip flexors, groin, lateral quads and ITB
and the following to be weak:
medial quads (VMO especially), glutes (gluteus medius especially)

You can find a lot more about this here:
http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/knee/patellofemoral_pain_syndrome.php

[David116]

Thanks Heidi. It's good to have a confirmation about my condition.

When I go for a massage, some practitioners won't touch my hamstrings because the tendon is extremely sore. I'll keep on stretching but I don't expect any changes, because I've tried for months now. I'll keep trying and keep on looking.

Thanks,

David

[Heidi]

Sports massage may be uncomfortable to the tendon area, but it should be ok to perform, provided the therapist starts lightly for the first couple of sessions until there is some improvement.