upper hamstring injuries- do they go away and your experiences???

I had the same problem for a considerable length of time and would believe I was all healed and the head out for a run and pull the hammy again.

I finally went to a sports massage therapist and he worked my hamstrings for over an hour with deep tissue massage. It was a bit painful but he broke up all the adhesions I'd accumulated over the years and the next morning I was 90% better. It was amazing.

I've used his services on a twice a month basis for the last three years and have had absolutely no problems with my hamstrings.

I'd highly recommend a sports massage therapist.

Good luck to you!

I strained my hamstring pretty bad about about 18 months ago. It was really high up right near the insertion point, which take the longest to heal. I get routine massages and tried some physical therapy. They help a little but the pain is always there and still hurts when I try and sprint all out. The best treatment I got was when I went to a chiaropractor recently who specializes in A.R.T. or active release technique for lower extremities. After several treatments, my hamstring felt the best it has since I first hurt it. 6-12 treatments will break up all the adhesions and deep scar tissue which I had. I unfortunately am back at college now and can't see my Dr. so it does not feel as good as it did when I was having treatment.

I'll second that.ART and deep tissue work is the answer.I tried everthing for about six months with no luck.Found a Chiaropractor who had me running after 4 treatments over about a 10 day period. After about another 5 or 6 visits I was at full speed. The hammy is now 100%

speed limit wrote:

I strained my hamstring pretty bad about about 18 months ago. It was really high up right near the insertion point, which take the longest to heal. I get routine massages and tried some physical therapy. They help a little but the pain is always there and still hurts when I try and sprint all out. The best treatment I got was when I went to a chiaropractor recently who specializes in A.R.T. or active release technique for lower extremities. After several treatments, my hamstring felt the best it has since I first hurt it. 6-12 treatments will break up all the adhesions and deep scar tissue which I had. I unfortunately am back at college now and can't see my Dr. so it does not feel as good as it did when I was having treatment.

My experience was similar, but ~ 10 years ago. I'm now having chronic problems with the ischial tuberosity point of insertion. Recently had iontophoresis along with continuation of prescribed exercises. I've had 2x month massage for the last 10+ years, the last 5 with the same one. Monthly chiro as a preventative. Stretch routinely as well. Doing just about everything right but cant find the right solution to my obvious weakpoint. I'm game for giving the ART another shot, sounds painful as hell though. Did you have to leave your body to endure? That also is a dominate memory of my last sessions with this treatment modality.

I think ART and deep tissue are a good place to start. But, how did the hamstring problems start in the first place? I think until you get to the root of the problem, you'll continue to have problems.

i read this...http://www.syracusechargers.org/therapy/chapt36.htmone

it's by physical therapist. there's a line in there regarding stretching that says "The most important observation I have made over the years is that maybe only half of runners I have seen with hamstring strains actually have tight hamstrings! In fact, many exhibit inordinate flexibility. Almost all, however, display one or more of the muscle imbalances or gait deviations that would cause the hamstrings to be used excessively."

this would suggest that strengthing the hams and supporting mucles would be beneficial

here is a good article about hamstring tendinopathy and strengthening exercises.

http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/2005/0505/fredericson.htm

also, check this article out.

http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0031.htm

on the principle of eccentric strengthing only. while this one is about achilles tendonitis. the original study this article is referring to is one of the only randomized trials on an exercise for a running injury. my thought if eccentric strengthening works for the achilles tendon, then why won't it work for the hamstring tendons?

applying this principle to the hamstrings and it means that using a light weight, lift the weight (on a ham curl machine) with both legs. the weight has to be light enough that both legs can lift it easily. now lower it only with one leg and do it slowly and repeat until you can't do it anymore.

finally, strengthen the hips and butt since they also support the hams.

i've have some really good successes using the exercises in the tendinopathy article and the one i explaned above. i can honestly say that i started seeing progress after only about 3 trips to the gym. my hams are still my weakest link and speed makes them regress but sticking with a routine has allowed me to actually train.

it's worth a shot.

i hurt my upper hammy/glute and did some ART and lots of stretching. i had ART done on my lower back, glute, hammy, and IT band. now i can run at any speed with little pain. it still bothers me to accelerate, like starting a 200, but after a few seconds it's barely noticeable. i swear by ART, it's worked wonders for me. make sure you strengthen the area to. your entire leg is connected through your hamstrings so make sure that everything is flexible and loose so there's no extra pulling.

so, just to clarify. It seems the best thing to do is get regular ART on the hams, strengthen them and the glutes, lower back, stretch the muscles around it. Does ice help after such a long time with the injury?

Is it possible that pieces of the ischial tuberosity flaked off because of the original tear/pull I had up there and are what's now causing the problem to make a home there?

I presume core stability plays a major role in getting rid of them?

To that guy who quoted the physical therapist. that really seems in line with what happened to me, because my hamstring were very flexible when it happened (stretchin the most i had in my life), are not so flexible now (80 degree upward stretch, says the pt), and i subsequently found that i had all sorts of discrepencies and misalignments.

Thanks for the feedback, it's great to know i'm not the only one experiencing this headwrecker.

tubbin:

Wow! That first article you've hyperlinked to is extraordinary. Everything I've always wanted to know about the pain high in my butt but was too ignorant to ask. Thanks.

I also had an ischial tuberosity injury to the right hamstring quite afew years back, it was very stubborn to heal, the closer the injury is to the insertion of the muscle the harder it can be, blood flow is not great in these areas and increased blood flow does help the healing process. I was off for about 2 months with this bad boy, and ended up running miles (it felt like) in the pool with Jill Hunter (92 10,000 meter finalist at the Olys),the PT I got did not help much at all until the guy decided to try a cortisone patch ( sort of like a band aid) on the injury site, with e-stim to really wake up the area, perhaps it was ready to be better by then anyway, but I literally got up and went running from that point on! Nonetheless, the right leg being my dominant one,most of my injuries and issues have been right hamstring, piriformis etc. I agree with the above posters ART and deep tissue massage are of huge benefit with most running injuries, especially to the hammys. Thats why I plan to go to Massage Therapy School later this year and then try to work predominantly with athtletes, if I haven't seen the injury I likely have had it with so many years in the sport and I want to be able to put back and see others healed and running like the wind again!

runguru wrote:

My experience was similar, but ~ 10 years ago. I'm now having chronic problems with the ischial tuberosity point of insertion. Recently had iontophoresis along with continuation of prescribed exercises. I've had 2x month massage for the last 10+ years, the last 5 with the same one. Monthly chiro as a preventative. Stretch routinely as well. Doing just about everything right but cant find the right solution to my obvious weakpoint. I'm game for giving the ART another shot, sounds painful as hell though. Did you have to leave your body to endure? That also is a dominate memory of my last sessions with this treatment modality.

glad it was useful. it was a big eye-opener to me. i think that the exercises in there would be good for all ham problems.

one of the things i noticed is that nobody takes their therapy as seriously as their running. if you want to run, you gotta be as complusive about figuring out the root of injuries as you are about getting in the miles.

I too am suffering from a high hammy strain. Mine is at least 8 months old. I did some ART in the summer (didn't feel it helped) PT with no running in December. Started back this month but I still feel it. Some days are better than others.

I do a lot of stretching, straight leg, bent leg in a sitting position and raising my leg while on my back. I also make sure I keep the leg straight as much as possible, and do some exercises with ankle weights.

Will try some deep tissue massage. The High Hamstring article was terrific. Thanks for the link.

be careful with the stretching. i had a pt who told me

"stretching an injured muscle is like tearing the scab off of a skinned knee".

his take was that you should just barely feel a pull and absolutely no pain.

but, stretch your hips, quads, and piriformis mucles. if these are flexible, your hams take less stress.

I agree. But I reason that since it happened many months ago, it is really adhesions and scar tissue I am trying to break up. I am never sure which injuries or minor pains to stretch. I am also using a heating pad to get some 'extra' blood flow to the area.Made an apppointment with the massage therapist for tomorrow. Will let you know how it goes.

tubbin wrote:

be careful with the stretching. i had a pt who told me

"stretching an injured muscle is like tearing the scab off of a skinned knee".

his take was that you should just barely feel a pull and absolutely no pain.

but, stretch your hips, quads, and piriformis mucles. if these are flexible, your hams take less stress.

i tore my right hamstring at the point of insertion in late june....it took until mid august to "recover" and then an absolutely brutal cross country season followed...not until i had begun strenghthening it, mixed with deep massage did it begin to feel better.....i still am terribly inflexible (but working a ton on that) and sprinting sometimes hurts but its getting better all the time....but still slower than i was. bottom line ART sounds good but work in some deep tissue massage....and hamstring injurys are one of the most annoying in running

If I were you, I'd find myself a osteopathic manipulative and find out if your pelvis is misaligned.

I would bet the 90 percent of hamstring injuries are pelvic alignment - imbalances. That is why it has not completely healed. I'm not doctor of course, but I wish everyone could experience the results I have found with a osteopathic manipulative. unbelievable results!

Did anyone who has had this have pain when they sat for a long time (like driving or in a plane)or did it only hurt when you ran?

Yes, When I sit for a long time or anytime my leg is bent, I feel it when I straighten it out. Thankfully, it is my left leg, so I can have my leg straight while driving.

curious wrote:

Did anyone who has had this have pain when they sat for a long time (like driving or in a plane)or did it only hurt when you ran?

many of you mention that this hammy challenges are chronic, months and years. the question you have to answer is, Was it really torn/strained?

In many, many cases nothing is torn or strained at all...If it is chronic and pt is not helping, then very likely it is tension induced pain.

Monte Hueftle

I've had it with you, Monte. Stop posting.

Don't prey on people's frustrations from injury to hawk your modern day snake oil.