hamstring

Hi OLB,

I suffered from a hamstring injury for quite a while until I began getting "active release therapy" (ART) and doing seated hamstring curls (as opposed to the curls where you're lying on your belly) with emphasis on the eccentric phase of the exercise.

For the curls, my physiotherapist had me do 2 sets of 15 reps twice per week. I was allowed to use my good leg to help get the weight up, and then just my injured leg to let it down slowly (count to 10 on the way down).

For the ART, he basically just dug into the hamstring with his thumbs and kept digging while I lengthened the muscle.

Hope that helps. It took me 6 different therapists before I found the guy whose work seemed to help, so don't lose hope!

G

high rep strengthening - - leg curls, cybex multi-hip machine (if you can get to one)

also try deep tissue sports massage, I've found it very successful in keeping my hamstring issues in check

Dude, I know how you feel, I'm also 33 and have had hammy problems for a while. I would recommend getting a sleave...I have two of them. A sleave?? yes its an elastic/spandax thighban you slide on before your runs. They have help in controlling strains during fast 400m intervals, when I'm done of course its sore and I have to ice and get massaged but it beats a pull or stain. I also run in the pool and have purchased a magboy. Go to google.com and type in magboy you can find some more info on this device that really helps. these are just a few reccomendations that works for me...everyone is different.

Train smart not hard!

That Active release is a killer but it works I got that also back in 2000!

From another guy with chronic ham trouble, ART does work well. Try to find a practitioner with experience with runners.

Make sure it is your hamstring and not your back or hip flexors. My hamstring injury of about 5 years ended when I started doing lower back exercises and stretching the hip flexors.

I would agree. If your symptoms are weakness and an ache in the thigh, as opposed to pain, I would definitely get a thorough examination of your low back to see if there is anything going on there, as that sounds like a more likely cause of your symptoms.

I'm also another big believer in ART. It doesn't tickle, but is very effective.

Ham strengthening is also important, but you also may want to think about stride length. You might be overstriding and need to shorten your stride. That was the case with me. Think about running the same pace, but working on increasing your turnover, not length. It's tough to do for an entire run, but break it down for a few minutes at a time. I use to run timed intervals and count the number of times my foot hit the ground. I would aim for 180 strides per minute or more. Chances are that you may be less then that right now. If you are doing something like 1 minute repeats (with 1 minute recov), it's easier to count every other time one of your feet hits the ground (aim for 45).

As for Cross Training, I would alternate Pool Running with an Elliptical Machine. Ellipticals also have a strides per minute display on the console which would be useful.

Good Luck!

Your comment about hamstring weakness and not being able to push off describes exactly the problem I had before my osteitis pubis (inflammation of the pubic symphysis) was diagnosed two years ago. One of the effects of osteitis pubis is that the body tries to protect itself from further injury and thus "shuts down" the muscles that are contributing to the irritation, in this case, the hamstring (this is way, way oversimplified but you get the idea). I had a re-occurance of the injury about ten months after the initial diagnosis, and guess how I knew something was wrong: went out for a run and had no hamstring push. In my case, my chiropractor - who works with athletes - completely missed the injury for about a year until a good neuromuscular doctor caught it. If you've had any sharp pain or discomfort in the groin/pubic area (especially after running), see a sports doc or physical therapist and ask him/her to check for osteitis pubis. Good luck.