Help Hamstring Pull or Tear that wont heal?

Question

I am a freshmen dancer on our varsity high kick team and a couple weeks ago my hamstring was pulled (hopefully not torn) at training. A couple days later i pushed it to hard and was in alot of pain now 3 weeks later my leg is killing me. I am going to physical therapy and i keep missing our meets. helpppp! any healing suggestions?

Answer 1

It sucks, but the only remedy for a muscle injury like this is to take the time to let it heal. Don't get too eager to get back into things, or, as you already learned, you're liable to injure it further and just prolong the time it will take before you can participate again. If you are in physical therapy for it, your physical therapist should be able to tell you when it is safe to start using it fully again.

I'm sure you've already been told this, but the standard treatment for muscle injuries is R.I.C.E.: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. Ice and Compression (like bandaging) to keep it from swelling, Elevation (above your heart, so in the case of a leg, lying down with the leg propped up on a pillow) so that the circulation is improved, and of course, as I mentioned, Rest. Keep off it and let it heal. That's your fastest path back to 100%.

Answer 2

You should probably check with your physical therapist for suggestions. Recovery from severe hamsting pulls or partial tears is not easy or fast. Plan on at least several months to recover. The first thing that needs to be done is get rid of any inflammation and stop doing activities that cause inflammation. While there is inflammation you should limit leg activities to walking, and perform very gentle stretches several times per day if this can be done without aggravating the situation.

Once the inflammation has passed, its time to get the hamstings back to their normal length. If you had partial tearing, this is a tricky thing to do. The original injury usually causes shrinkage and it forms scar tissue - you need to break up the scar tissue without tearing the normal tissue. To do this effectively, it helps to follow a few steps each day: (1) apply heat to the muscles using a warm (not hot) heating pad for 10-15 minutes; (2) massage the hamstrings with your thumbs and try to release and knots or spasms (hard spots) by pressing on the hard spots a couple of times for 15-20 seconds; and (3) stretch your your legs by alternating between hamstring and quadricep stretches, and stretching just enough to feel a little tightness. Push successive stretches a little bit further each time if the leg feels like it is loosened up, otherwise, don't try to push the leg to the point where the tightness becomes uncomfortable.

The biggest mistake with hamstring injuries is re-injuring the muscle by trying to speed up recovery - don't do this (although you probably will do it at least a few times before you learn the limit). Don't even think about getting back to the kick team - just consider yourself fortunate if you are able to get back on the team in a month or two.


Some other things that might help:

Ultrasound treatment of the pulled muscle. This isn't something you can do on your own, but the physical therapist may have this avialable.

Massage therapist - two to four visits spread out over 2-3 weeks can make a huge difference.

If all else fails, the docs might consider giving a cortisone injection.

Answer 3

Sorry to hear about your hamstring. Well, as far as how long it will take to heal depends on the extent of the injury. If it did not turn black and blue, it is probably not a "pull" but a strain. In this case ice and rest should take care of it in about 14 days. But listen to the muscle! if it tells you not to do much with it, then don't! While recovering I would ride a bike rather than run in place if you can. Running in place will bet your heart rate up, but riding a bike will let you sustain a higher heart rate for longer. If your hamstring did turn colors, you might want to see a physical therapist to see about the extent of injury.

Answer 4

Heat is always good :)