AGGH! Hamstrings!!
After a long bout with shinsplints and other problems, I FINALLY got a new pair of orthotics and was able to work my running up to 6 miles four times per week (7.5 m/h pace on the treadmill) and doing cross training.
About a month ago I started to develop an achy pain on the outside of my right knee towards the back. I kept running through it, hoping that it would go away on its own, but it never has. When I tried to run outside on the street, which has a slant, I developed an intense pain in on the same knee in exactly the same place on the inside. The doctor said it was hamstring tendonitis and recommended stretching and an anti-inflammatory.
I’ve been doing cross-training in hopes of being able to switchover to running again soon, but my knee feels very unstable and still has a dull ache when I run (it doesn’t hurt at all when I bike, walk, or do an eliptical or stairclimber). Can anyone recommend what I should do now? Physical therapy? Massage therapy? Ultrasound?
Thanx!
runnerchick
4 comments
Muscledawg
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The first place to restart your activity will be in water aerobics. BUT you will need to wait until your are pain free to start. You need to continue to ice to reduce inflammation. If you think this was a “pull” injury (i.e. muscle strain) then don’t stretch. Rather do some small contractions of the hamstring, until it gets fatigued, several times a day.
You can for example sit in a chair and block your heel with the leg of the chair and try to push your heel into the leg for a 5 second contraction for up to 20 reps to fatigue. (you’ll know what I mean when you feel it.) 3 or four times a day. You can also stand with your back against the wall and try to push your heel into the wall for 5 second contractions.
These will start the process of remodelling any scar tissue on the muscle you might have gotten as a result of the injury. Once its feel better move to aqua class then eliptical then treadmill then back to the road. You should have no pain during or after the exercises. If you do, ease up or skip a day and cut your repetitions in half and work up more slowly.
Hope that helps,
Muscledawg
BBoop
This is my first question so I’m not sure if I’m posting this correctly. Yesterday I pulled the hanstring in my right thigh. (Probably a couple of months ago I was having deep pain in the right buttock.) I iced the injury yesterday and the pain has subsided somewhat. I am anxious to get back to working out, which includes the treadmill, water aerobics, the elliptecal machine and some weight training. Is it safe to do any of the above? Should I continue icing? Aspirin? (I’m a 57 year old female.)quote]
On 2003-04-26 06:12, Muscledawg wrote:
If it were ITB syndrome then any flexion of your knee between 30 and 60 degrees would hurt. Since you can bike pain-free I suspect this isn’t your problem.
I think your problem is a weak core. If your abs and glutes are not strong enough they cannot control the weight of your upper body over your hip, knee, ankle as foot and (usually) your knee gets torqued and inflammed.
I think you should try to get to a sports therapist who can test the strength of your hip rotator muscles and prescribe exercises to help you strengthen them.
In the meantime, trigirl’s suggestion to stretch is a good one but you need a good core strengthening routine to solve this problem I think.
Hope that helps,
Muscledawg
[/quote]
Muscledawg
If it were ITB syndrome then any flexion of your knee between 30 and 60 degrees would hurt. Since you can bike pain-free I suspect this isn’t your problem.
I think your problem is a weak core. If your abs and glutes are not strong enough they cannot control the weight of your upper body over your hip, knee, ankle as foot and (usually) your knee gets torqued and inflammed.
I think you should try to get to a sports therapist who can test the strength of your hip rotator muscles and prescribe exercises to help you strengthen them.
In the meantime, trigirl’s suggestion to stretch is a good one but you need a good core strengthening routine to solve this problem I think.
Hope that helps,
Muscledawg
Trigirl
Did you take time off to let the shin splints settle down? Even though it sounds like you eased back into the mileage of your training, 7.5 mph is still a pretty swift pace to start back at! It may be that you jumped in with too much too soon. Also, sounds like your hamstrings, possibly IT band, are tight. Once the pain goes down, begin gentle stretching of the entire lower extremities. Do some swimming and biking and let the pain be your guide as to how much and how often. Hamstring problems are very tricky and hard to beat, unless you give them ample rest in the beginning. Sounds like you have some other things going on- persistent injury often means that something deeper is going on. Do you follow a periodized schedule? Do you take at least one day off a week? Do you strength train? Have you tried yoga? How is your lower back? Sometimes tightness gets trapped up in there and locks things up below? Do you have a sports massage therapist that you can see? They can probably get a good idea of what is tight and what is going on. Hope you get well soon!