Diagnose me

17 years old, ben running just over a year. 16:50 3 mile 4:35 1500, mileage was max about 40 mpw. a lot of hills and track work

Google upper hamstring tendinopathy. MRI diagnosed mine and I had many similar symptoms (i.e. tingling in leg, lack of coordation, sciatic-type issues). Continue to strengthen your hips. On youtube, there is a routine called, "MYRTL." If it is tendinopathy, it may take a while to fully heal. Be patient.

Thanks man! is this the type of thing you can run through?

I was able to run easy mileage, but no real workouts. Once I sped up during workouts, it further aggravated the hamstrings, which flared the whole issue up again. Initially, I was told not to stretch the hamstring and take anti-inflammatory. I experimented with many things over the long time period and easy running, coupled with hip strengthening was the key.

While this may be your issue, I would get checked out by a doctor.

did you feel pain in the glute going down the leg? were hills worse or better? did u wait until no discomfort to do strength exercises or can you do them through discomfort?

Sometimes, I had the shooting pains in my legs, which was the sciatica-type issues. I didn't do formal strength training (i.e. squats, extensions, etc.) until I was pain free. I focused on that hip routine that I previously referenced (MYRTL).

Glute medius.

I've been suffering for 16 months. Finally, FINALLY I found a PT who in turn located a large, hard knot in my glute medius.

Basically, I injured my glute medius and my hamstring took over - I was using my hamstring to try to drag the leg forward. The whole leg shut down and went haywire... hamstring pain, pseudosciatica, snapping hamstrings, clicking hip, weakness, limping, restricted motion, inablitiy to extend the leg and 16 months during which I could not keep my leg from rotating externally...

1 orthopedist

3 PT's

1 Sports Medicine "Specialist"

A spine and pain management clinic

2 piriformis injections

a chiropractor

Finally I was referred to a 4th PT who has located a large, hard knot or trigger point in my upper glutes. I see him 3 times a week and he gives me very very painful massages. He presses on a specific point in my glute and the howling pain shoots all the way down the back of my leg.

This is the first PT to actually put his hands on me and do manual work on the muscle. All the previous practitioners kept telling me to stretch and do clamshells and bridges. The exercises were ineffectual because the muscle wasn't activating and the hamstring was taking over and becoming increasingly sore. The stretching wasn't helping. When treatment would fail the PT's would treat me as if it were my fault - as if I weren't trying hard enough or doing my homework assiduously. I tried and tried and tried to work the muscle with a tennis ball, a hard rubber ball, the stick, a foam roller...

Sometimes you are injured and it isn't entirely in your power to cure yourself.

See if you can get to a good, trained massage therapist who will get your muscles under their hands and truly investigate the source of the trouble.

nice. how long did it take you to get over the problem? (both you and the other poster)

I'm not fixed yet. You might have high hamstring problems. I know I have a glute medius injury. I haven't had an imaging other than the standard lumbar MRI to rule out disc herniation. It may be that insurance pays for the lumbar MRI as a rule, as part of the diagnostic process to eliminate serious problems. It might be harder to bill other types of imaging. No one has ordered an MRI of my muscles and I'm pretty sure that an x-ray is useless when you have the soft tissue injuries.

The things that seem to make my injury different from some of the other injuries people have described (including those with labral tears):

-this injury does NOT repsond to protracted rest

-this injury alters the way I walk

-this injury hampers my stride at all times (not after a few miles)

-this injury is aggravated by prolonged sitting (esp driving)

-this injury causes the hamstrings to be tight

-this injury does not cause sharp groin pain

-this injury causes chronic gnawing pain of the upper glute near or beneath the belt line

-when performing clamshells, glutes, leg extensions etc., I feel almost nothing in the injured glute. Nothing happens on that side. I tend to feel a yanking or straining of the inner hamstring. It's like the glutes have gone into hibernation.

I have had four treatments during which a PT digs at the muscle. I will let you know if this treatment course resolves my issues.

To the OP. Go see a physical therapist. Pain down the leg and weakness in the manner that you are describing may indicate a problem with the nerves as they exit your spine.