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I sustained a fairly serious hamstring tear (at least grade 2) about 8 months ago by doing leg curls.
It now feels pretty much healed, however when I straighten my leg, there is a noticeable bulge at that location.
What is this?
Will it ever go away?
Should I be treating it in some way?
Help appreciated!
Parry
hi parry,
well, you mentioned your injury as grade 2, let me just explain so that you are sure;
grade 2 hamstring strain/injury is explained as moderate tearing of muscle fibers with pain generally covering a larger area than the 1st degree strain (pain often localized with one finger). stiffness and weakness will be felt and the painful area may appear black/blue due to bleeding within the injured muscle. significant limping may also occur when walking.
now regarding your query, let me give you a short note on the pathophysiology so that you understand better. generally when a muscle gets injured (grade 2, in your case) there is bleeding within the injured muscle. a chain of events take place before full healing
a. inflammatory phase b. fibroblastic phase and finally c. maturation/remodelling process.
the noticeable bulge you mentioned is the fibroblastic tissue. fibrosis in other words is very much like scar tissue formation.
generally with time and conditioning exercises your muscle will be perfectly fine, back to normal. you will have problems only if there is a mismatch - every muscle in the human body has a length:tension ratio. following an injury the muscle might lengthen or shorten due to fibroblastic activity and can lead to problems, weakness etc. as far as you are concerned, I dont think there is any lack of strength/weakness etc. so just be cool, forget about the bulge and go ahead with your regular training.
all the best.
cheers,
thomas
Thanks Thomas... a couple of things caught my eye...
About the swelling... it's been 8 months and I still have some. I asked my doctor and he instantly said bursitis... but come on, it wasn't there before the injury... plus I tried NSAIDS for a month and it went down considerably and hasn't re-swollen... it's just that I can't get rid of it completely...
Question is, why won't it go away? Is it common to still be there after 8 months?
Plus, for the fibroblastic phase, should I get a deep massage on the area, or not bother it in that way? Maybe strength exercises?
Parry
dear sting
In 31 years I have seen only two people with a similar condition. The bulge in their muscle would not go away( both cases m. quadriceps), whatever therapy, taping or massage was given (various professionals).
If it is still there after such a long time, it is possible that the fascia ( white layer around your muscle) is ruptured. As far as I know, this cannot be "treated" and if you still have it in 2 yrs time, it will most probably be there to stay.
In the case of my patients both had no pain, just the bulge... when we tried taping it, it would go away, when we took the tape off it was back.
Hope this helps
esther