Hamstring tendon pain

endurojcb

Hi,

On Monday I was running on a treadmill at the gym. Only at about 12kmph, so not fast (although I do have pretty short legs as I’m only 5ft 8”). Around 15 mins in I got a sharp pain in one of my hamstring tendons on the inside back of my left knee (if you feel there yourself you should feel 2 tendons). I’m not sure which one out of the two the pain came from (and I still don’t know)!? It felt like someone had pushed a pin into my skin or something. I kept on running for a further 5 mins as the pain only lasted a split second. That evening the back of my knee started aching on the area of the initial sharp pain. Over Tuesday and Wednesday I could feel the odd pin being poked in sensation again as well as a fairly constant ache (not pain, just ache). It pretty much subsided yesterday so I did a very light 15 min jog on the treadmill last night without any pain. Then later in the evening and now today it’s aching again with that same pin being poked in sensation!

Any idea what it could be? Maybe a slight tear in the tendon or something? Any suggestions on remedies and rehab for it?? Should I stay away from the treadmill and my bike for a while? It’s really annoying as I’m meant to be going biking in Wales in just over a week! Any feedback would be very helpful.

Thanks peeps.

specializedone

Take some Iboprufen and a recovery drink.
Ice it regularly and rest for a couple of days
Massage some Arnica cream into the site of the tear before going to bed and then again in the morning.

Should see you ok

Splottboy

Specializedone is right, but...Get it checked out too.

I had H/string tear/pull up near the butt/thigh. Tae Kwon Do kick did it in...

Because the Tendons have a poor blood supply, they are a censored to heal/repair.

Took bloody ages to heal and I had acupuncture, physio, cortisone steroid injection, and laser treatment. 6 weeks off work and took months to get right.

But, as I was a TKD Instructor, didnt rest it as much as I should have done, DOH !

Hope you have better results, Good Luck, Boyo !

OwenBird

NSAIDS slow soft tissue repair
Ibuprofen is a NSAID

If you can deal with the pain, you might be better off avoiding the pills till your leg is better. I'm also extremely skeptical as to the efficacy of Arnica. I don't mean to start an argument here but I wouldn't bother with that either.

RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) is just abou tthe only course of action as far as I know. Maybe a bit of light massage now and then to keep the blood moving around (which should really be proviceec by the application and removal or compression anyway).

Hope you fix up soon.

benpinnick

You should look into ITBS (http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/sportsmedicine/a/itbs.htm). I have had it before and its difficult to tell from your description if its the same, but it might be. Making sure I do the right stretching before and after exercise has allowed me to overcome the problem.

endurojcb

Thanks guys,

Pain wise, I can easily do without Ibuprofen, although it is an anti-infamitory so I guess it might be of some use!?

I rested it until last Thursday when I played 5-a-side for an hour (although I’m not a skilful player, I do run around like a headless chicken for the vast majority of the hour). I seemed ok the next day, although my groin in the same leg (left) felt really tight even when just standing up normally (might have over stretched for the ball during the footy). Not sure if the two are linked at all though. I just kept stretching both my groin and the hamstring tendon. They seemed to have eased a bit by Saturday. I decided to go for a ride over a Cwmcarn yesterday after going to watch Bath whoop the Harlequins backsides in Bath and I didn’t seem to have any noticeable pain during the ride. I do seem to have a just noticeable dull ache from the tendon area today though.

As for ITBS, I do have a problem with that. Stretching seems to keep it at bay though. ITBS is on the outside of my leg rather than the inside though.

OwenBird

Perhaps you got groiney as a result of trying not to work your hammies too much? If they're strained, I wouldn't have thought stretching them was a great idea though.

I was a bit confused about how the ITB could contribute to hamstring pain, but I suppose if one bit of your leg is a bit off-kilter, it can have knock on effects on the other muscle groups. And since this is what I suggested at the start of my reply...I'm sticking with it. Got a foam roller for your ITB?

endurojcb

Erm....foam roller??? Nope, don't think so!? What's that and what's it for exactly?

Swannster

My two pennies for what its worth (as an out of practice biomechanist) is that pain coming during a period of exercise may be a result of many things. If there has been no change in speed (and you have a reasonable aerobic capacity) your posterior knee pain may be the result of a gait anomaly.

However, you don't mention how much running you normally do and what other training you were doing and therefore its a bit difficult to offer any proper advice. In the light of this, ice is your friend!

Hope you get back training soon!

PS. if you want a muscle to worry about, try the popliteus!

endurojcb

I usually run 3 or 4 km about 4 times a week and ride my mountain bike 30+km at least once a week.

I did have surgery on the same knee in September 2008 to remove a ganglion from the joint. They went in from the inside of my knee (just round from where the vastus medialis goes into the knee) into the soft tissue near-ish to the tendon/s in question, but i've had no trouble with them since then. Could it just be a case of some old scar tissue tearing away or something perhaps!?

I can add a pic if you really want me to??

OwenBird

Let me google that for you

Swannster

By the way that you describe a quick sharp pain initially and then a dull ache subsequently, would normally indicate that you experienced some muscle trauma. That said, playing footie and the injury not stopping you at the time would mean that its not serious!

From what you've said about getting back out on your bike and only having a dull ache afterwards, I'd say that you're recovering well but in future pay a bit more attention to the muscles surrounding the hip joint and your core stability (that old chestnut!)

Anyway, good to hear that you're back in the saddle!