Rehab for mild hamstring pull?

I started riding a bike for the first time in 20 years in September. I worked my way up from 3.5 miles to 20-ish miles by riding 3X per week (sometimes 4) the last 3 1/2 months. About a month ago I noticed a tight feeling in both hamstrings and it affected my power. I didn't ride for 3 days and they both got better, but then the pulling and tight feeling came back in only my left leg. Today I noticed it for the first time when I wasn't on the bike--I was just standing in the kitchen. On the scale of 1 to 10 the pain is only a 1. I have iced it after riding, but it's not improving. I have to be careful to pedal in easier gears, but obviously not using the legs for cycling in 20 years probably means weak muscles and lack of flexibility. I have been foam rolling it every day for a month. What else should I be doing? I don't want this to become a long-term problem.

REST. I'm sure Catrin will provide you with more information.

Rest, Rest, Rest, Rest, REST

I started the same way, with your symptoms, in September, after a spring and summer of hard cycling. I tried to ignore it and kept riding - and only succeeded in making the problem worse and also developed tendinitis in both hamstring and quad. Please note that I did try to take it easy, rode/spun easier, avoided steep hills and so forth but that did not help. Rest is the main treatment for a pulled hamstring and the older we are the longer it takes to heal. I am still having issues with this 3 months later - all because I ignored advice to rest properly when I first did it.

So rest, ummmmm did I say rest? :D I am the current TE poster child of what not to do with a hamstring injury - don't be like me :o :)

I know you're not my P.T., but how much rest do you mean when you say rest? Sometimes it doesn't hurt at all around the house, so how would I know if I had rested long enough, and when it's ok to ride again? Thanks!

It's best to rest it.

I tweaked my hamstring when I was on vacation a little over a month ago (and it wasn't even from cycling). Anyways, I've been going to physical therapy for my knee so I told my physiotherapist about it and we've used "the stick" as well as the "Graston method" to break up the fascia as well as electrotherapy (and I think iontophoresis as well...but I'm now getting mixed up on what we did for the hamstring vs. just the knee!). We've been using kinesiology taping on the hamstring as well which has helped a lot for me personally (some taping patterns helped me more than others).

Even though I just tweaked mine and my physical therapist didn't say to stop riding or to take it easy (though I wasn't riding much a the time as I was taking a little bit of a break and transitioning between going from the road to the trainer), I'd be careful and rest it because mine, although much better, will still sometimes hurt when riding on the road/trainer.

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Originally Posted by deskrider

I know you're not my P.T., but how much rest do you mean when you say rest? Sometimes it doesn't hurt at all around the house, so how would I know if I had rested long enough, and when it's ok to ride again? Thanks!

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I am not a doctor nor physical therapist - but my physical therapist gave me a general rule of thumb to use. If I can go two weeks without pain (which I've done) then I can start slowly getting back into things. Just because it doesn't hurt for a little time doesn't mean that it is healed, just that it has progressed enough not to hurt and that it is still possible to have a set-back. Have been through this cycle several times now :rolleyes: My original rationalization and stubbornness means that it probably got worse than yours.

We do have physical therapists as members here, and I certainly defer to anything different they may advise.

Since its onset was with renewed riding and on one side....any chance this is L5 or Piriformis related and NOT a hamstring pull? I only mention bc my PT mistook my L5 herniated disc for "extremely tight hamstrings." The TX just made the L5 issue worse.

Not a PT, nor a Dr., or lawyer, don't play one on TV .... but some good ham info here:

http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=36999

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Originally Posted by deskrider

What else should I be doing? I don't want this to become a long-term problem.

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this sounds like the problem i had recently

First, go to a bike fitter and have them check your seat height, and forward/rear position, and your cleat position

if you have been fitted, make sure your seat hasn't slipped down

I am not a doctor or PT, but I would recommend daily stretching of the hamstrings

Good advice, everyone. As an overdoer myself, I will definitely advocate for the rest. I've also had great luck with the Stick and self massage (just done when my legs are soapy in the shower). My acupuncturist recommended this simple trick and I'm amazed at how much loser everything has felt since.

Thanks to all of you for your comments and PMs. I know this is more complicated than I originally thought. First, I do have some flexibility issues from sitting at a desk for decades and not riding, second, I do have some L5 problems from a back injury 5 years ago that left parts of the left leg numb, and finally I have very short legs and a long torso so I tend to scoot my seat back or instinctively scoot myself to the back edge of my seat. The kinesio tape one of you mentioned might be a good idea while it heals, but I don't think my L5 problem can be "solved" and I ride two different bikes so I need to try to figure out which one might be aggravating it more and see if changes should be made. I also think my left leg is a bit shorter than the right, but I think both bikes are ok on seat height as that has been checked and triple-checked by people who are qualified. Sounds like I better go to PT and get as much advice as possible to deal with these issues and do a proper recovery before it causes more problems. Do any of you think riding in cold weather could make it worse? I notice that 37-38 degrees the back of my legs get cold, even with 2 layers on. That might make it stiff?

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Originally Posted by deskrider

Do any of you think riding in cold weather could make it worse? I notice that 37-38 degrees the back of my legs get cold, even with 2 layers on. That might make it stiff?

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I'm sure the cold isn't doing your muscles any favors. But if you do ride outside be sure to get in a nice, slow, long warmup. Have you tried embrocation on your hamstring? Anything to keep that muscle nice and warm.

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Originally Posted by deskrider

Thanks to all of you for your comments and PMs. I know this is more complicated than I originally thought. First, I do have some flexibility issues from sitting at a desk for decades and not riding, second, I do have some L5 problems from a back injury 5 years ago that left parts of the left leg numb, and finally I have very short legs and a long torso so I tend to scoot my seat back or instinctively scoot myself to the back edge of my seat. The kinesio tape one of you mentioned might be a good idea while it heals, but I don't think my L5 problem can be "solved" and I ride two different bikes so I need to try to figure out which one might be aggravating it more and see if changes should be made. I also think my left leg is a bit shorter than the right, but I think both bikes are ok on seat height as that has been checked and triple-checked by people who are qualified. Sounds like I better go to PT and get as much advice as possible to deal with these issues and do a proper recovery before it causes more problems. Do any of you think riding in cold weather could make it worse? I notice that 37-38 degrees the back of my legs get cold, even with 2 layers on. That might make it stiff?

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If your saddle is positioned correctly in terms of fore/aft, you really shouldn't feel the urge to scoot back on your seat. The fact that you are suggests to me that maybe it's not positioned far enough back. The problem is that when you scoot bag, you're effectively making your hamstring extend more than it perhaps should. When a fitter moves a seat back, he/she will typically lower it a bit to compensate for that (or conversely, if he moves it forward, he'll raise it a bit).

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Originally Posted by bluebug32

I'm sure the cold isn't doing your muscles any favors. But if you do ride outside be sure to get in a nice, slow, long warmup. Have you tried embrocation on your hamstring? Anything to keep that muscle nice and warm.

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X2 on the embrocation...especially in the colder weather. I religiously use Body Glide Warm FX on all sorts of troublesome areas for me (knees, lower back, neck and shoulders). It has a nice warming effect that stays with me for a good while. I just love the stuff and usually end up buying 3 or 4 sticks at a time, just so I won't run out.

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Originally Posted by indysteel

If your saddle is positioned correctly in terms of fore/aft, you really shouldn't feel the urge to scoot back on your seat.

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+1 Fore/Aft....height too.
One thing I notice a lot at the shop is a poor fitting saddle sometimes will cause the rider to want to slide back.

DeskRider....why do you think your L5 issue cannot be resolved? I admit it DOES take a LONG time and constant work.

It might not be able to be resolved because P.T. didn't do any good--in fact thee PT evaluation in and of itself made my left leg numb. I think there is some kind of permanent structural and/or nerve damage in this area and any kind of twisting will make it worse. I have done exercises for 2 years and have not noticed any improvement. I'm just lucky it isn't as bad as it was 5 years ago! I think the PT person was somewhat scared when she did my eval and noticed that just resisting pressure side-to-side as she held my leg then caused the numbness to return. I had NO pain during the evaluation and no indication anything was wrong but the next day the numbness was there. It lasted for a year, which is what happened when I first injured myself by sitting twisted in a chair for 3 hours while they were doing construction in the office. Ow...
I'm open for any ideas and suggestion though, but so far the Dr. and the PT person I have seen are puzzled.

Have you had an MRI done of your L5 area?