Forums >Health and Nutrition>Hamstring - tight or injured?
Over the last couple of weeks, I've noticed a lingering ache/tightness in my right hamstring. Any pointers on figuring out whether this is caused by tightness or an injury? The little bit of googling I've done suggests that if this is a hamstring strain/pull, it should not be stretched. But if it's a tight hamstring, stretch it, right?
Some more details. I run/hike about 30-40 mpw, both pavement and trail. I take it easy, my avg pace is in the 13s for the runs and 18s for the hikes. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the worst pain ever, this is in the 2-3 range. I can feel "something" there, it goes away once I"m warmed up. It started at the base of the butt, now it feels like it has moved to mid thigh. I want to foam roll and stretch the heck out of it, but hesitate in case it makes it worse. I suppose I could foam/roll stretch and then evaluate, and if its worse, stop immediately.
I am paranoid about getting injured, maybe I'm making too much of general training fatigue. I'd appreciate any advice about what you would do next if you found yourself in such a situation.
The search button to the rescue. Found a bunch of threads with suggestions. Foam roll, don't stretch, strengthen, avoid speedwork until pain goes away. Running is ok while recovering. Don't race. All doable!
SMART Approach
Get the hammy nice and loose and warm (Active warm up) before you run (Prehab). A little stretching after is ok as long as not painful. Ice after 10-15 min.
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Also, make sure your foam rolling includes the muscles above and below the offender (such as the piriformis and calves). Be careful foam rolling a wounded hamstring as it is a lot like stretching it. If it is tight, I will foam roll the hamstring. If it hurts, no go on the muscle itself.
Also, you probably need to figure out why it is aggravated. This is a good resource for this sort of thing: http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Runners-Unlocking-Potential-Prevention/dp/1620871599/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Agree on no to the speedwork / racing.
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My hamstrings have been pretty tight lately and this youtube yoga video seemed to help quite a bit. More than the stretching I was doing. It's a bit long (47 mins), I think there's a 30 minute one by the same folks also.
https://youtu.be/gDQNqZMv1V0
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I'm trying to figure out if my quads are over-developed, thus pulling on the hamstrings, thus causing low back pain. I've been using a lacrosse ball to do pinpoint massage, and that seems to have helped some of the low back pain, but I think I definitely have a strain in the left upper, just below the butt check. It really started bothering me when I tried running Wednesday, and I finally stopped and walked the rest of the way. Screwed up my gait. Any kind of stretching seems to irritate that area.
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Leslie,
I've had a similar problem. Wound up going to PT for it in 2013 which helped. I have a bulging L5 disc which has been the source of off and on irritation since 2009. In 2013 I started having pain on the left side where it seems my hamstring connects up top (below the butt cheek as you mentioned). That not only irritated that area and my hip, but my lower back was not happy either. No idea if the bulging disc started it all or the other way around. Anyway, went to the PT, and she found that my left side was a lot weaker than my right. Started strengthening left side, and things got significantly better. That said, it is still not 100%. It never hurts like it did before. (It used to keep me up at night.) It does have its days where it gets achy after a long run. I still do my strength exercises for both hips. I foam roll almost daily which seems to make a difference. I use the lacrosse ball on the hamstring when it really starts pulling on me. Wish I knew what to do to make this go away completely. It doesn't keep me from running, but it does require regular attention to keep it in check.
Thanks, Cassie. I'm hoping to get into my PT this week. Tomorrow I go for MAT appt, so maybe she can help figure things out, as well.
I've had back issues off and on since I fell a number of years ago, but things haven't been this much of a problem in a really long time.
We'll see . . .
Hope the PT helps get it figured out. Let us know what they say. I hope you feel better soon!