So I've been dealing with this about two years. A little hitch in my hamstring crept in unannounced one day during an easy run in 2014, and it hasn't gone away since. It's ischial tuberosity area, high hamstring stuff. I've had periods on and off where I've been able to string together some decent weeks of jogging, but I haven't been able to race or truly train for anything since this began.
I know there have been other threads on this in the past (I've read all of them, and all the advice) but in lieu of bumping them I'm just looking for fresh perspective and a place to vent, I guess.
I've done the xrays, the MRIs, seen a variety of docs… I’ve tried taking five full months off from running (including 8 weeks completely off from “real†exercise – yeah, I got desperate), but it didn’t make a lick of difference. I’ve done two rounds of official, very dedicated physical therapy (3-4 months at a time) plus plenty of my own home brew PT. I haven’t found the standard eccentric hamstring exercises to be helpful whatsoever. Instead, focusing on strengthening my glute meds has seemed to help. I always sit on a pillow now, try never to sit for long, etc. The single most useful habit/exercise/stretch I’ve discovered has been spending a lot of time working on deep hip openers like “lizard pose†variations in yoga. For a few weeks this summer I was convinced this was going to be what keeps me out of trouble permanently…it has REALLY made a difference for my pain management… but lo and behold, despite being quite conservative with my running, the old ache is back, and I’m no closer to getting better than I was in 2014.
I’ve had a few periods in the past two summers where I thought I might have seen the tail end of things, and gotten back up to 25-40 mpw for a few weeks at a time, and I’ve had a lot of good days where things almost feel normal… but then the achy soreness in the high hamstring never really seems to dissipate and completely go away. It’s unlike any injury I’ve ever had… it’s so, so stubborn. Back before this injury, I was regularly running 50-80mpw depending on what I was training for… I ran a 3:02 marathon and was hoping to break 3 hours eventually (female). I had a heck of a fun time with that, and would like to at least get back into racing SOMETHING some day. I can jog 10 miles or so and be okay, with maybe a little soreness in the area, but I haven’t had any indication that I’ll ever be able to handle true speed or "training" for anything again.
I’m 29, and I suspect the next few years will be it for me in terms of PRing anything, but it's looking grim for getting fully healthy. Am I done? Should I be content with jogging a few times a week and doing other physical activity and give up on the idea of ever racing again? Find a new hobby? This injury is such a mindscrew – it’s so discouraging to keep thinking there’s a light at the end of the tunnel that never seems to come. Is it even possible to get rid of an injury that has hung on for so long?