Torn hamstring?

[XmisterIS]

I think I may have torn my hamstring.

I get a pain in the "crook" of my knee (at the back), not it the ligaments, but in the soft bit that is right in the middle, at the top of my calf.

Whenever I sit down for a long time, my leg is bent (obviously) and when I stand I limp for a few minutes because I can't fully straighten the leg due to tightness and pain the crook (as described), extending down into the calf itself.

Once I have been walking around for a bit or get out on the bike, it loosens up and is ok.

I think I did it on Monday when I went rock climbing.

Does that sound like a slightly torn hamstring?

Will it heal by itself?

 

[Dayvo]

Don't know and I don't care!

I bust my gut laughing at your post.

My misses and her mates thought I was having a fit!

 

[XmisterIS]

Whut?? This post? Why is this post funny? I demand to know! Instantly!

EDIT: Ah! The other post. Yes. Quite.

 

[Garz]

No you have not torn it.

I did and I couldn't walk on it for two days (teach me to not warm up enough before playing football), and it was only a minor tear. R.I.C.E protocol is the best but again as yours seems to fix itself after loosening up its probably just a strain or a very mild pull.

Yes rest will heal it, although if you were pushed to have to ride then strapping it would probably be enough for a bit of support.

 

[slunker]

Not a tear, you wouldn't be able to walk at all with a tear. Also it my be the top of your calf muscle and not your hamstring. The hamstring usually is tendon in that area and is on the lateral and medial side, not the middle. Gentle stretching and some light exercise will help.

 

[XmisterIS]

I hope so!

It is weird - it comes and goes now!

Sometimes there's no pain at all, even when I've been sitting for a while, and at other times I feel something "tweak" - and all of a sudden I'm limping along in pain! Weird.

 

[ASC1951]

I think I did it on Monday when I went rock climbing.

Will it heal by itself?

It's different for professional sportsmen, but for most of us the occasion when the muscle 'goes' is just the last incident i.e. there is an underlying problem and, unless you deal with that, the injury will repeat.

Cycling may be good exercise but it's a bugger for leaving us with short hamstrings and stiff backs and necks. I think you should do some proper hamstring stretches and (which is harder) keep doing them after it is sorted out.

I still use this book although there are plenty of others - http://www.amazon.com/Stretching-Bob-Anderson/dp/0394738748