Hamstring issue

Hey guys, first time poster here. I did some research but I just could not figure out exactly what is wrong and what I need to do about it.

I'm 24 years old so the years of running all day and not worrying about my muscles are coming to an end. However, I can't stop playing football so that solution is out of the question haha.

Basically, 3 weeks ago I was really dehydrated and continued playing the game. I took a shot with my left and I heard and felt a pop in my left hamstring. I hobbled off the field and rested for about a week and a half. I remember testing it by stretching it in different directions to see if I felt anything unusual. It felt pretty good and I went out and played again. I was fine for a while and then I pushed off with my left and felt it kind of pop/strain which caused me to stop. I rested it and wrapped it occasionally, but I really didn't know what I was doing. Yesterday i went out and played again, but I decided to take it slow. I kept everything at a jog and painfully had to avoid going for some 50-50 balls. At the end I felt extremely sore. I can still jog right now, but it hurts when I walk even.

What is unusual about it is that I can lay my legs out in front of me and it wont hurt, but if i'm slouched I can't bring my left leg to straighten out like I can on my right. The pain is at the top of my leg almost where my butt connects to the back of my leg. I'm not really sure what stretches I could be doing or what else I should be doing over the next weeks to properly heal this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ahead.

Hi

From your description, it sounds as though the damage may actually be to your lower back rather than to your hamstring, and that the pain you're feeling is a sciatic nerve stretch rather than a hamstring stretch. I'd suggest spending a couple of weeks stretching out your low back to get the joints moving again properly, and to allow any nerve irritation to settle.

Two exercises I'd suggest in particular:

1. Lie on your back on the floor. Pull your tummy in, and bring one knee up to your chest, and then the other. Hold your left knee in your left hand, and your right knee in your right hand. Cross your ankles and drop your knees apart. Relax your tummy. Use your arms to gently rock your knees in very small circles and up and down, and see if you can find a sore spot anywhere under your low back or pelvis. If you can, focus your rocking motion on that. If you can't, just keep rocking *gently* for a couple of minutes. I really do mean *gently* - if you are vigorous, your back muscles will kick in and prevent you from stretching out your joints and ligaments. Then after a couple of minutes of this, pull your tummy in again, and lower one foot to the floor and then the other.

2. Take a yoga brick or a pile of books about 7cm high. Start as you finished the last exercise - lying on your back on the floor, with your knees bent and your feet on the ground. Squeeze your knees together (this activates your buttock muscles) and roll your way up your spine, lifting first your bottom, then your low back, and middle back, until you are a straight line from knees to shoulders, with your weight just on your feel and shoulders. Slide the brick in under your bottom (*not* under your back) and lower your bottom down to rest on it. *Slide* (don't lift) one leg at a time out away from you so that you are in an arched position over the books, and let all your muscles relax. You should feel a stretch, and it may be uncomfortable. This is ok! Hold the position for 30-60 seconds, then *slide* one foot back up towards you and then the other. Squeeze your knees together, lift yourself off the block and slide the block away. Lower your bottom, pull your tummy in and repeat exercise 1.

Do the whole thing 3 times, i.e. exercise 1-2-1-2-1-2-1. If you do this every morning and night for the next 2 weeks, I think you will find that your hamstring/sciatic problem is significantly better, and then you can start stretching again. Stretch it by sitting on a table and swinging your legs. You've already found that is a more effective stretch for you than a straight leg stretch.

Hope that helps!

Nell

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Thanks for the advice with those stretches. I will work on them starting today.

I agree with Nell that you probably have a low back issue and it may be sciatica. If that's the case, then it is most likely a problem with your hips. I would be willing to bet you have kyphotic posture. Check and see if your butt tucks under you leaving a very flat lower back. If so, you will need a good rehab program to realign your hips and that should take care of the flat back, sciatica and tight hamstrings. if you are looking for a good at home low back program, check out the SMS Low back Program. It will help you figure out the postural distortion in your hips and then guide you through the right exercises to fix it at home. You won't need any equipment for it, FYI. If interested, check it out at SMS Low Back Pain

I think you're absolutely right about me having a hip issue. Two years ago I torn my hip flexor on the other leg. However, my back is the complete opposite of being flat. In fact the lower part is very curved and it kind of makes my buttocks stick out more. When I lean against a wall, if I flatten my lower back on it, my upper body slouches alot. I think it's supposed to be like that, but not to the extreme that my back does.

Hi LeythG,

Going on what you've told us it sounds as if you have strained your hamstring, the audible poping sound, trouble walking etc. probably a small-medium grade 1 tear. A common area to tear muscles is in the musculotendinuos junction (where the muscle tissue turns into tendon tissue). One of the MTJ's for your hamstrings is high up on the back of the leg where you described your pain with slumping. The slump test is a test that manual therapists use to indicate neural compromise, however, the test by its nature also puts tension through the entire posterior chain (a group of muscles on your back and legs, the hamstrings are one of these muscles) and it could just be that when tensioning the entire chain of muscles you are aggravating the torn area causing pain. If there is no back pain, mid buttock pain or pain radiating down the leg with or without slumping, and with your history, a torn hamstring would be my guess.

it is obviously hard to assess and actually say with any certainty what we believe is the problem without seeing you in person. getting properly examined by a physio will be the first step in healing and also prevention of something like this happening again or as much.

Good luck with it.

SST

Hi Leth,
I felt that this is a hams strain at upper musculotendinous junction, where it is very susceptible and common to tear.It is better to examined by a Physio hence you need to prevent recurrent hams strains.
If the pain is still going on I suggest to keep ice on the area where you feel pain for 2minutes and hot fermentation 2minutes alternatively; for 20 mins (keep care on ice burns and all). Do gentle stretches and after pain subsides start strengthen exs for hams.It is better to do these exs under the supervision of a physio.
Hope ur recovery soon!
isanka

Okay, so if your lower back is too curved, it could be the opposite- lordotic, which is a very different set of stretches and exercises. Lordotic would mean you have weak hamstrings instead of tight ones. In any case, here is a really good upper hamstring stretch. Put your leg on a chair and make sure you are facing forward and your back foot is straight. Now, bend the knee of the leg that is on the chair and keep your back straight as you gently bend forward. This is a great upper hamstring stretch that should hit that area.

Hi

All the above could be true, but you also need to understand that most hamstring strains are actually an end result of biomechanical chains that have been around longer than you think. In most sports that involve running there are 2 common areas that tend to tighten from overuse in short ranges of motion. One is the front of the hip (psoas muscles) and the other is the back of the leg (hamstrings). So these are generally tighter than they should be unless stretched daily. I find most hamstring problems begin as hip flexor tightness, which in turn causes weakness of the hip extensors. This then causes compensatory overuse of the hamstrings to support the weak hip extensors. Overuse of the hamstrings cause a tightening of the sheath of the hammies (fascial shrinking) and thus they are an accident waiting to happen. Treating the hammies on their own is not sufficient. You will require an assessment of the strength and flexibility of all hip muscles as well as the hamstrings, and as mentioned above check the low back as well. Slump pain does not always mean sciatic nerve, but keep an open mind about that one just in case. Unfortunately stretching will tend to only maintain what you already have as far as range of motion is concerned. You will most likely require a treatment involving myofascial release of the hips, low back and hammies to recover fully. Not to mention the autonomic nervous system that may not be controlling the blood flow to your legs correctly...causes stiffness and weakness, often the start of these problems.