My hamstrings are shot :(

andy83

Im not sure if its the cold weather or just getting older (im only 27 lol)

but the last few days my hamstrings have felt really tight and no amount of stretching seems to help.

Anyone else getting this or should I just MTFU

asprilla

Go have a sports / deep tissue massage.

It might not help but you certainly won't complain about it again.

rf6

Sounds like you've pulled it or something (can you tell I'm not medically qualified??). 2 options I suppose, MTFU or a bit of rest and ibuprofen. The latter may be wiser if it has been going on for a while. We all need a bit of rest now and then, even you young 'uns!

andy83

To be honest im seriously considering this. I have had one before and to be honest I actually enjoyed it. May enquire at gym if they do them as I really do need one

I have cycled almost 8000 miles this year, add that to around 10 spin classes over last couple of months and also gym workouts thats a lot of abuse my legs have had.

andy83

rf6 wrote:

Sounds like you've pulled it or something (can you tell I'm not medically qualified??). 2 options I suppose, MTFU or a bit of rest and ibuprofen. The latter may be wiser if it has been going on for a while. We all need a bit of rest now and then, even you young 'uns!

I havent pulled them as done that before, they are just REALLY tight and feel short if that makes any sense at all

asprilla

We have someone come into the office every week who will do an hour of deep tissue for £40 so I tend to go every couple of months. With the gym, running and spin my hans, calves and ITBs need regular work.

d87heaven

Get a foam roller or a thing called 'the stick' and massage them yourself. Not as good as a sports massage but should help keep you from needing one. Personally I find the stick closest to a massage. I get loads of little pea like knots in my hammys and it keeps them at bay. It looks expensive for what it is but it works very well.

cyclopsbiker

use the Find a Practitioner on http://www.thesma.org/ to find a Sports Massage therapist close to you. if you were in London I'd say come see me!!! regular massage will certainly help, and you can help the therapist by using a foam roller, but don't just use the roller - the therapist will use techniques that can relieve the tension neurologically as well as affecting the physical length of your soft tissues.
regards stretching, it won't help if the tissues are adhered/stuck together - this is where massage really helps.

Clever Pun

with cycling if you don't stretch your hammies they will tighten.

how do you stretch? can you touch your toes with straight legs?

PBo

I had longstanding hammy problems, but the problem ended up being tightness in spinal cord, which was then tightening the hammies to protect it.....the hammies were just collateral damage.....

NGale

My hamstrings are the same, totally shot to pieces from years of playing football and now with refereeing. The sports massages help but on a day to day basis using a deep heat spray and then a stretch helps no end.

Also cycling does help but stretch before you cycle

lost_in_thought

NGale wrote:

My hamstrings are the same, totally shot to pieces from years of playing football and now with refereeing. The sports massages help but on a day to day basis using a deep heat spray and then a stretch helps no end.

Also cycling does help but stretch before you cycle

I was always of the understanding that you mustn't stretch cold muscles, and that you'll do damage by trying...

I tend to get straight in and stretch in the evenings, and I can happily put both palms flat on the floor with straight legs.

NGale

lost_in_thought wrote:

NGale wrote:

My hamstrings are the same, totally shot to pieces from years of playing football and now with refereeing. The sports massages help but on a day to day basis using a deep heat spray and then a stretch helps no end.

Also cycling does help but stretch before you cycle

I was always of the understanding that you mustn't stretch cold muscles, and that you'll do damage by trying...

I tend to get straight in and stretch in the evenings, and I can happily put both palms flat on the floor with straight legs.

That's why I use deep heat before stretching to get some warmth into them.

I find when I am refereeing I have colleagues telling me I should run first and then stretch, the problem I find it this is usually where I injur myself because I run on them cold.

d87heaven

Before stretching you should warm up slowly. A light jog is ideal or a slow ride to get your core temp up. Then you should only stretch before exercise if you feel like you have tightness anywhere. Flexibility/ROM exercises should be done beforehand, bounding, strides, running backwards, bouncing on the spot, arm circles, neck rolls etc
Many people have weakness in the hammys due to weak gkutes. One legged supine bridges are good for seeing if your hammys do all the work and getting the glutes to fire.

andy83

cyclopsbiker wrote:

use the Find a Practitioner on http://www.thesma.org/ to find a Sports Massage therapist close to you. if you were in London I'd say come see me!!! regular massage will certainly help, and you can help the therapist by using a foam roller, but don't just use the roller - the therapist will use techniques that can relieve the tension neurologically as well as affecting the physical length of your soft tissues.
regards stretching, it won't help if the tissues are adhered/stuck together - this is where massage really helps.

I think this is whats happened, stretching is doing nothing for them

with cycling if you don't stretch your hammies they will tighten.

how do you stretch? can you touch your toes with straight legs?

That's whats worrying me. Im usually quite flexible and can easily touch toes with straight legs, however the last couple of days its been a completely different story, like they have shortened by around a few inches

daviesee

Any change of gear?

Shoes, pedals, saddle height etc?

I did a long run a month ago in different shoes and my hamstrings haven't been the same since. Very painful and tight. I am waiting for the pain to subside (it is slowly) before I do any serious stretching.
Once recovered I will be doing a lot of stretching as I am really inflxable. I don't think I have been able to touch my toes with straight legs since I was 10 :oops:

ride_whenever

Has this coincided with the cold snap?

I'd imagine it's related to over exerting yourself before properly warm. Your flexibility shouldn't drop that quickly... see a sports physio asap.

itboffin

Damn you OP I took a day off the bike yesterday come the even boy was I suffering, hams pulling, everything felt tight and out of place.

I'm blaming you :evil:

Clever Pun

itboffin wrote:

Damn you OP I took a day off the bike yesterday come the even boy was I suffering, hams pulling, everything felt tight and out of place.

I'm blaming you :evil:

not your own broken down body then?, blaming that would make more sense

itboffin

Clever Pun wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Damn you OP I took a day off the bike yesterday come the even boy was I suffering, hams pulling, everything felt tight and out of place.

I'm blaming you :evil:

not your own broken down body then?, blaming that would make more sense

My body is a temple :roll:

Zachariah

Is that why you fill it with burnt offerings?

jonginge

itboffin wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Damn you OP I took a day off the bike yesterday come the even boy was I suffering, hams pulling, everything felt tight and out of place.

I'm blaming you :evil:

not your own broken down body then?, blaming that would make more sense

My body is a temple :roll:

Like this?

hatbeard

itboffin wrote:

Clever Pun wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Damn you OP I took a day off the bike yesterday come the even boy was I suffering, hams pulling, everything felt tight and out of place.

I'm blaming you :evil:

not your own broken down body then?, blaming that would make more sense

My body is a temple :roll:

shirley temple?