# How long does a pulled hamstring take to heal?



## upstateSC-rider (Aug 21, 2004)

Has anyone pulled a hamstring? How long did yours take to heal?
Think I pulled mine...Woke up one morning and the back of my left leg was hurting but felt better throughout the day (maybe as it stretches out?). When I sit for about a half-hour, it hurts when I first get up then feels better. This has been going on for 3 weeks now.
I'm still able to ride on the weekends and I can barely feel it, though.  

Any thoughts?
Lou.


----------



## ZG82 (Jun 14, 2004)

if you would have pulled your hamstring, you would have felt injuring it. i have done this before, and it took a very long time to heal. 

it sounds like you just woke up with a cramp, since you say it felt better as the day went on. your problem may actually be that your hamstrings are tight, not pulled.

i recommend light stretching of your hammys. a beginner's yoga class will go a long way for the future.
be careful though, if you're stretching your hamstrings, and they hurt either at the top, near your butt, or down low, by your knee, then you may have an injury.


----------



## upstateSC-rider (Aug 21, 2004)

ZG82 said:


> if you would have pulled your hamstring, you would have felt injuring it. i have done this before, and it took a very long time to heal.
> 
> it sounds like you just woke up with a cramp, since you say it felt better as the day went on. your problem may actually be that your hamstrings are tight, not pulled.
> 
> ...


I'm with you, I would've thought I'd be hurting when it happened. The weird part is that it's going on 3 weeks now so it makes me feel that it may be more than a cramp. 
The good thing (I hope) is that it feels like it's in the middle, not toward the top or bottom.
I'll try the stretching.

Thanks.
Lou.


----------



## Spunout (Aug 12, 2002)

Forever. My third week too. I yanked it good running up a small mountain in a cyclocross race (CX is taken very seriously in my neck of the woods). 

No real pain during or after the event. But the next day, I though someone had beaten me across the back of my left thigh with a baseball bat. From the glute to the knee, totally.

Rest. Soak. Stretch. Naproxen E 500's (happy, happy). Input from the doctor is to stop riding for a week. No running either. Start light, no more CX, if it hurts stop.


----------



## slogiant (Apr 12, 2004)

*I guess I will find out*

I pulled mine in the lower part down by the knee last weekend.
After the third day, internal bleeding from the tear made my leg look like this....

It happended when I tried to out-sprint the teenagers who were ganging up on me in an adults vs teens paintball game - you can guess who won.

Instant pain, made me fall flat on my face in mid sprint, still limping a week later, running and biking currently out of the question, can swim but a bit awkwardly.


----------



## bsdc (Feb 15, 2002)

upstateSC-rider said:


> Has anyone pulled a hamstring? How long did yours take to heal?
> Think I pulled mine...Woke up one morning and the back of my left leg was hurting but felt better throughout the day (maybe as it stretches out?). When I sit for about a half-hour, it hurts when I first get up then feels better. This has been going on for 3 weeks now.
> I'm still able to ride on the weekends and I can barely feel it, though.
> 
> ...


It sounds to me like you may be experiencing sciatica. A pulled hamstring should settle out in three days on its own. Sciatica will feel about the same, but will not go away until you unpinch the nerve. Another clue is the pain when you go from sitting to standing. That's common with sciatica. Go see a chiropractor. More than likely the culprit is the sacroiliac joint.


----------



## vonteity (Feb 13, 2005)

slogiant said:


> I pulled mine in the lower part down by the knee last weekend.
> After the third day, internal bleeding from the tear made my leg look like this....
> 
> It happended when I tried to out-sprint the teenagers who were ganging up on me in an adults vs teens paintball game - you can guess who won.
> ...


That ain't a muscle pull, honey. That's a friggen tear!!

Muscle pulls can take a while to heal, but tears will take a LOT longer. I pulled a calf muscle while marathon training. I had a crazy lump in my calf muscle for weeks. I bought "the stick" and massaged the crap out of it, which helped a little... but it was incredibly painful (both the massaging and the running).


----------



## upstateSC-rider (Aug 21, 2004)

bsdc said:


> It sounds to me like you may be experiencing sciatica. A pulled hamstring should settle out in three days on its own. Sciatica will feel about the same, but will not go away until you unpinch the nerve. Another clue is the pain when you go from sitting to standing. That's common with sciatica. Go see a chiropractor. More than likely the culprit is the sacroiliac joint.


Bingo, you got it. I almost forgot about this thread, BTW.
It turned out to be sciatica with the pain getting to the point that if I sneezed I felt a shooting pain down my leg and my entire leg would go numb for a few seconds. A few sessions with a great chiropractor had me feeling great.

Lou.


----------



## bsdc (Feb 15, 2002)

upstateSC-rider said:


> Bingo, you got it. I almost forgot about this thread, BTW.
> It turned out to be sciatica with the pain getting to the point that if I sneezed I felt a shooting pain down my leg and my entire leg would go numb for a few seconds. A few sessions with a great chiropractor had me feeling great.
> 
> Lou.


I'm glad to hear. I didn't notice how old this thread was. I thought I was responding to a new thread. It's nice to get instant feedback, though. I'm glad it all worked out.

Bradley


----------

