# Pulled hammy



## likesbeer (Mar 4, 2016)

Hi all - first post for me. I pulled my left hamstring playing tag with second-graders tonight. I'm 44 and have been cycling seriously (200-300 hrs/yr) for 15 yrs. I'm 99% sure it's a pull and not tear because i tore one about 20 yrs ago. I'm wondering if anyone has had experience with this and what type of training you can do during recovery. No I didn't tag the kid I was chasing - salt for wound.


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## Fajita Dave (Dec 1, 2015)

First, if its an option for you see a doctor. With that being said I never pulled a hammy but I have pulled other muscles and tendons. How you treat it is going to depend on if its a tendon problem or muscular. If its muscular it should heal up pretty quick and I wouldn't worry much about it depending on its severity. If its tendon it will take quite a while to heal or at least be pain free (possibly 1 year or more depending on severity).

Generally for any injury resting for about 72 hours is the first step. You don't want to do anything that may cause further damage. Light activity is usually best after the rest period. It will increase blood flow which brings nutrients to the injured area and help keep the affected area flexible. As long as you avoid anything thats high demand you should be fine (again depending on severity which a doctor could help you with).

A good diet always helps. Protein is of course important for muscle health but also very important for tendon health. Vitamin C is actually pretty critical for tendon health because its what your body uses to create collagen. Which helps strengthen tendons and keep them flexible.

Its a pretty general response but I hope it helps!


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## likesbeer (Mar 4, 2016)

Thanks - it has greatly improved and i've gone on a couple of tempo rides, so probably strained the muscle. I didn't know that about Vitamin C and tendons - thanks!


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## scott h (Apr 26, 2008)

I pulled mine years back while riding. i stopped because of a thunderstorm and got cold. On the way home, I went too hard and pulled it. It took quite a while for it too heal. Take it easy for a bit and don't aggravate it.


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## 9W9W (Apr 5, 2012)

likesbeer said:


> Hi all - first post for me. I pulled my left hamstring playing tag with second-graders tonight. I'm 44 and have been cycling seriously (200-300 hrs/yr) for 15 yrs. I'm 99% sure it's a pull and not tear because i tore one about 20 yrs ago. I'm wondering if anyone has had experience with this and what type of training you can do during recovery. No I didn't tag the kid I was chasing - salt for wound.


I pulled a hamstring a month ago or so. I was also working with a very good PT at the time who was willing to bet that the pull was actually referred pain from elsewhere. I did ONE painful deep tissue sports massage where he worked the back of the ham with intense thumb pressure, as well as the area where the ham inserts into the pelvis, and the problem resolved itself completely. I was sore the next day but fine after that. Before then I hobbled for a week feeling a twinge with every out-of-range movement. 

Skilled PT hands work wonders.


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## OldZaskar (Jul 1, 2009)

I pulled/tore my hammy a couple years ago in a race... by not crashing. Yep - crash in front of me, braked hard and pushed the bike forward to avoid flipping. Felt like a pit bull bit me in the ass.

I took it easy for few weeks... got back on the bike... and it got worse. I did this for a couple months. I eventually saw a PT, followed her directions. That little almost-crash cost me a year of riding hard.

Punchline: If you can get to a doc - go. If you can see a PT - do it. And, do EXACTLY what the PT tells you. Don't rush it.


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## mimason (Oct 7, 2006)

I pulled my hammy in early December and am still nursing it back. I road too hard a week after the original injury and had to cut back most all hard efforts. Now, I can do some nice tempo pulls but it aches a lot so I've settled on an ice/heat and anti-inflammatory regimen now and am hopeful it will get better still. Riding has cut back to only two days a week and its getting old and I'm more and more impatient. I think the hard core massage is in the cards. I suspect is was a modest tendon issue but I did not have any internal bruising evident on my lower glute or leg.


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## aclinjury (Sep 12, 2011)

Runners all have pulled hamstrings and quads. The way you heal is to let it rest mostly. Daily massage and light stretching to stimulate blood flow so the healing is faster, but don't stretch too hard as that will damage it more.

Sometimes when you pull a muscle, the muscle just balls up a bit and you would stretch is back out and you're back to normal. No damage was done. In other times, a "muscle pull" where it gets really painful and will not go away immediately, it means that you have sustained a micro tear in the muscle and/or tendon tissue. The later case will take time to heal, and depending on the extend of the tear, it could be anywhere from 4 weeks to 4 months+


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