Another hamstring strain

[thomson_adam]

i pulled my right hamstring about 2yrs back and had nothing but problems for about a yr. anyhow no its ok ive managed to tweak my left one playing football , it was no way as painfull as the right and i used RICE straight away.


after the first 3 days it started to feel good but as i have stepped up stretching i am starting to get a aching in it . i had a small jog today which is exaclty a week after i had done it, i had no problems with it but now its abit sore again .

do i continue to use ice and keep stetching or do i totally rest .

[Heidi]

Definitely keep stretching, this will help to align the scar tissue in the right way and keep the whole muscle more flexible.
You can probably go on to alternating hot and cold now to really flush the blood through it which should help too. 5 mins of each for 20 mins.
Start gentle strengthening if it is pain-free to do - contract the hamstrings whilst trying to bend the knee against resistance.

[thomson_adam]

Heidi , thanks for your quick reply
would hamstring curls at the gym be ok if very little weight is used ?

for some reason my leg aches more when i'm just walking about compared to going for a jog.


i also have a massage machine , will i be ok to rest my leg on this for some time ?

[Heidi]

You needt o do the isometric exercises (contraction with no movement) first before you do hamstring curls.
A massage machine should be fine.

[thomson_adam]

Heidi

After doing the hot and cold therapy as your suggested along with the stretching , i decided to go for a run yesterday. this was 20days after the intial injury had taken place. i had no problems at all but only managed to get some ice on it after for about ten minutes.

today my hamstring is abit tender , what should i do today. do i ice or ice and heat.

Have i put my recovery back or is this to be expected?


thanks for your time.

[Heidi]

Its not uncommon for some soreness when getting back into exercise. Make sure you given it several days rest and it is feeling 100% again before running again and only do a little, with no sprinting or change of directions.

[thomson_adam]

how about ice or heat. i wasnt sure if i had gone past the stage of needing ice.


thanks for all your help

[Heidi]

No if you are still getting some soreness after exercise then ice and heat are great

[thomson_adam]

[QUOTE=Heidi;5460]No if you are still getting some soreness after exercise then ice and heat are great[/QUOTE]



Heidi once again thanks for your advice..... i havent exercised since sunday but i will apply some heat and ice like you said . i probs wont try going out running again till this sunday