Hamstring injury

commercegrad07

before i start, this may be in the wrong section so a moderator may redirect if necessary..
anyway, 21 years of age and i've pulled both hammers three times, left one 4 times. it is an absolute scourge.. hurling is my sport, and always, without fail at this time of yr the hammer goes.. was just wondering if anyone has experienced probs like this and is there any alternative treatments to the usual physio.. have gone through the mill with this ****in ting, and just after pullin the left one tonight, after being out for last month with the right one pulled.. the tear is nearly always a grade two, exterior, and most painful down towards the knee tendon.. people have suggested it may be to do with my posture but i cant think of anyone to consult over this.. any advice would be appreciated..

Hanley

I'm guessing it's an muscular imbalance, or tightness or motor control issue. What physio have you been going to?? Try and get to a reputable sports one. They should be able to see what the problem is pretty quickly.

Lil' Smiler

Hey,

How many times have you gone to the physio for treatment on this?
What did they do?
What did they reccommend?


Just trying to get some more info on this as I'm a Physical Therapist, just seeing what info i can give to help.
A month may not be enough rest at all. What did you do during the month taken off? Did you do any exercise? Any stretching, swimming, ice therapy etc?

Colm_OReilly

Are you squatting? Are you squatting correctly? I'd say Hanley's on the money.

Killme00

How much stretching are you doing? For this recurring problem, you should definitely see a physio, luckily your GAA club will cover all expenses. But there is an underlying issue that stretching in Gaelic and Hurling is very poorly done.

Please dont accept this as personal ciriticism:

A few laps of the pitch and then some bad stretching is not a proper warmup for any sport but especially a contact sport where you sprint in short bursts with alot of twisting and turning. I played Minor Hurling for Dublin many years ago and after 11 years away from the sport have only recently gone back to playing Junior Football. I never had a problem with my stretch because i competed in martial arts from a young age and was lucky enough to be taught to strecth by someone who knew what they were doing. I think its because of this good stretching that i never pull a muscle while playing, (broken bones and teeth but never muscles) or maybe i was just lucky.

commercegrad07

have always gone to our club physical therapist.. its the usual, ill ice it now for 2-3 days, then depending on severity of tear ill ease my way back into stretching. this could continue for maybe 1-2 weeks, then if it feels good some light running.. if this goes okay some incline running and then id be back light training with team after maybe 3 1/2 weeks.. because of this prob goin back a couple of years i've always properly stretched on my own before training. last night it was my "good" hamstring that went.. i even had the other one bandaged up around the tendon at the knee.. maybe it could have something to do with it, but i've always had flat soles and have regularly used orthapedic insoles. and another thing, in the gym over the winter id nearly always have stayed away from leg weights, treating them as kinda an unknown entity.. funnily enough, during the summer on a j1 i played in america, never so much as thought about stretching, and never once did it appear to bother me..

Hanley

To be honest, your physio sounds crap. No decent one would see the same player over and over again without figuring out that somethings up. Sounds like he's treating the symptom and not the cause. If that's the case then your problem will NEVER be sorted. You need to find a physio who will fix whatever is causing your repeated strains/tears.

Say for instance you didn't know a car needs petrol to run. One day you get one witha full tank and drive it until it stops, then you call your mechanic to fix it. It's not a serious problem, but one that takes you out of action. He just throws some more petrol in and away you go, but forgets to tell you what to do to stop it happening again. It would also be totally preventable if your mechanic just told you WHY the "breakdowns" were happening.

Colm_OReilly

Hanley's bang on.

This rehab might help.

Killme00

You are covered under your clubs insurance to go and see a professional. You should definitely go and stop seeing someone who obviously is a little clueless.

Rogueish

Hi OP,

Here is a range of exercises for hamstring rehabilitation. As has been said in ways before. Stretching, running and light training is insufficient to adequately rehabilitate your hamstrings. Your hamstrings are 'pulling' because they are simply not strong enough to support the level of training that you are doing.

Even though these are a range of exercises I use to rehabilitate hamstring injuries you really need to go to a professional who will be able to gauge where in the programme you should start and recommend adaptations, progressions, sets and reps along with adequate manual therapy.

Hanley

I just want to point out again, there's absolutely no point in rehabbing the hamstring unless you're treating the under lying cause of the repeated strains and tears.

commercegrad07

thanks for the info lads.. in fairness to the physio we have in the club, any time i did do it was more trying to get me back for a game in two or three weeks rather than trying to find long term solutions. that word document looks good so hopefully i cant just completely down tools with the club for a while and get this sorted. its still fairly throbbing on me today and trying to get a project written up in college isn't helpin me!

Hanley

commercegrad07 wrote: »

thanks for the info lads.. in fairness to the physio we have in the club, any time i did do it was more trying to get me back for a game in two or three weeks rather than trying to find long term solutions. that word document looks good so hopefully i cant just completely down tools with the club for a while and get this sorted. its still fairly throbbing on me today and trying to get a project written up in college isn't helpin me!

I don't want to call the physio's qualifications into suspicion, but where did they learn that?? Clown college???

If they had of taken the time when your first injured yourself to help identify the problem and treat that you probably wouldn't have injured yourself 6 more times. Alot of the time the solution is incredibly easy. Some motor control work, some extra attention to a particular muscle group etc... It doesn't neccessarily mean it will slow your recovery down, but it should help to prevent future instances of the same injury.

I don't understand how you're not p!ssed off because of this!! I'd be bloody raging.

I popped my SI joint back in nov '05 or thereabouts. The diagnosis was dormant glutes and a bit of asymmetrical tightness in my hip region. The physio didn't even look at my back or attempt to treat that. It was an injury that just needed some rest and would heal itself with a bit of rehab. The emphasis was put on fixing the cause.

Every now and again I can feel the same problem flaring back up but I make the effort to do some motor control work and add in a bit more targeted stretching and the problem goes away. Put simply, I'm avoiding an injury that will happen by taking preventative measures.

Please, do the same.

Lil' Smiler

In regards to the team Physical Therapist, are they fully qualified or still in training?

As to trying to get you back into a game for 2 or 3 weeks, that's down to the athletes decision usually. They set their targets, Physical Therapists are taught in a client centered approach whereby we ask our clients what their goals of the treatments are. it is then down to the therapist to say they will treat the client under those goals.

I know I certainly wouldn't work on someone if they wanted me to treat them for your problem and then return to play 2/3/ weeks later. We had this debate in college actually, and it is down to the therapist to accept or turn down the business.

Always remember that it's a good idea to continue going for treatment after the initial injury for maintenance, whether it be once a month or once fortnightly. Someone did argue this with me earlier in the marathon forum but the massage techniques used by therapists are not just for relaxation etc. They are used to break down scar tissue, realign fibres etc so in my opinion, whether it being professional or from my own experience as an athlete before I got into the industry, I would always reccommend regular treatments

commercegrad07

hanley i see your point.. but again it was purely my decision.. if we're out in championship in three weeks time the mentality i have is that ill def play.. our physical therapist is fully qualified and i dont hold him to blame to be honest.. as you said it was wholly my decision to try and get back as soon as possible.. my main reason for coming on this board really was to see if there were any alternative methods.. as i said earlier i feel my posture and walking may be a factor.. im resolved to solving this problem but i reckon if it came to it, id rather just play and worry bout it later.. anyway im def out for championship in a weeks time and next round wont be for a while after, if there is another round, so time to get it sorted methinks

Mikel

You're gonna **** yourself up.
There's good sports physios in UCD, O'neills I think.
Also a woman in Stillorgan is highly regarded, but I can't remember her name.
Someone else might know

Lil' Smiler

Mikel wrote: »

You're gonna **** yourself up.
There's good sports physios in UCD, O'neills I think.
Also a woman in Stillorgan is highly regarded, but I can't remember her name.
Someone else might know

Possibly The Priory Clinic beside Stillorgan Park Hotel?

01 2835566

They do student clinics on a monday & friday night. Cost is €30. You will be seen to by 1st, 2nd & 3rd Year Physical Therapy students who are under the Supervision of Clinical Supervisors

Lil' Smiler

commercegrad07 wrote: »

hanley i see your point.. but again it was purely my decision.. if we're out in championship in three weeks time the mentality i have is that ill def play.. our physical therapist is fully qualified and i dont hold him to blame to be honest.. as you said it was wholly my decision to try and get back as soon as possible.. my main reason for coming on this board really was to see if there were any alternative methods.. as i said earlier i feel my posture and walking may be a factor.. im resolved to solving this problem but i reckon if it came to it, id rather just play and worry bout it later.. anyway im def out for championship in a weeks time and next round wont be for a while after, if there is another round, so time to get it sorted methinks

OP, if you think it's your posture & walking, are you looking for a solution to help this such as prescriptive orthotics?

thirtyfoot

Lil' Smiler wrote: »

OP, if you think it's your posture & walking, are you looking for a solution to help this such as prescriptive orthotics?

Be wary of the orthotics, locating and correcting the weaknesses should be a first port of call I'd say and a lot of of these weaknesses will be located up and around your ass and hips. Hanley mentioned about a dormant glute, I'd say the majority of people have dormant glutes. I had one too and its causing soft tissue pain in the groin area. I've got the glutes working now so that its not only my hamstring but the glutes that is lifting my leg and keeping it on the straight and narrow (for want of a better description) when I run or walk and the soft tissue pain is dissappearing. Simple and effective, but finding someone who can identify it (instead of using a bit of ultrasound or old school friction) is the key. Having said that I'm not a professional medic but it makes sense to me.

Mikel

Lil' Smiler wrote: »

Possibly The Priory Clinic beside Stillorgan Park

I don't think so, it's a well known physio I'm thinking of, treats a lot of professional athletes

http://www.mountmerrionphysio.com/findUs.html

i think this is the clinic, can't remember the physio's name

Hanley

Lorraine Carroll?

Rogueish

Hanley wrote: »

I just want to point out again, there's absolutely no point in rehabbing the hamstring unless you're treating the under lying cause of the repeated strains and tears.

You are right but I did state that a rehabilitation programme should be supervised by a qualified professional after a full evaluation. If you read the word document you would see that I did say that you have to look at the surrounding musculature to ensure that you are treating the underlying cause.

Hanley

Rogueish wrote: »

You are right but I did state that a rehabilitation programme should be supervised by a qualified professional after a full evaluation. If you read the word document you would see that I did say that you have to look at the surrounding musculature to ensure that you are treating the underlying cause.

I know!! Just saying it again in case anyone was just skimming

Colm_OReilly

Hanley mentioned about a dormant glute, I'd say the majority of people have dormant glutes.

I know I don't - all the laydeez tell me they love how my ass is working them jeans!

Solid advice so far. As for orthotics, if they're needed, Dave in the Leinster Clinic is the only guy to go to.