Old Hamstring Injury Still Painful to Stretch

[sharsaroo]

Hi, I pulled my hamstring about 10 years ago whilst attempting to do the splits (obviously not having warmed up/stretched enough before hand).

The injury does not affect me in my everyday life, but I'm trying to get flexible again and whenever I stretch my hamstring the pain is not a good stretching pain but a pain directly relating to where the tear was. whenever I do a scissor stretch, the part of the muscle where the tear was makes a funny sound as if it is clicking into place at a certain part of the stretch.

What I would like to know is whether I am doing more harm than good in stretching the hamstring and if stretching it (not too strenuously) will actually help the hamstring.

Thank you!

[Heidi]

Hi,

When you originally tore the hamstring, presuming you had no treatment (?), there is more than likely some extensive scar tissue in the muscle. This is probably the cause of your problems.

Stretching is fine, as long as like you said, it is gentle stretching, slowly increasing the stretch and without sharp pain.

I would strongly recommend some sports massage. This will help to break down any scar tissue and improve the flexibility of the muscle.

Good luck!