How can I exercise around a bum hamstring?
May 3, 2018 3:59 PM Subscribe
I pulled my hamstring (I think). I know the best remedy is rest, but I fear for my waistline and mental health. How can I keep up my fitness routine without making things worse?
I go to the gym 2-3 times a week, doing a mix of cardio and weights for about an hour. In the past six months or so, I've gotten more into running (which I felt really good about, because I am so NOT a runner...I'm short and curvy, it's just never come naturally), and I also go at it pretty hard on the elliptical. I concentrate on long strides because I sit all day for work and have pretty tight hip flexors.
About two months ago, the back of my leg--right above the knee--started feeling particularly sore after working out, but I just figured it was because I was challenging myself ("no pain no gain!") and kept up my routine. Now it's sore pretty much all the time, even when I've taken a week off from the gym (I still walk at least 20 minutes a day with the dog). I feel it most when I stand up and straighten my leg, or take anything longer than little short steps when walking. On the advice of gym rat friends, I stretch everyday (on my back, with a towel around my leg sticking straight up) but I think that might be making it worse! Now it sometimes feel sore from right below my knee all the way up to the top of my butt.
So obviously something is messed up and I need to lay low, but I am avoiding giving up exercise altogether because I have to work pretty hard to keep my weight where I want it to be, and it also does wonders for my mental health, sleep quality, etc. Further, I'm planning on pregnancy in the next 6 months, and I really wanted to be as cardiovascular-ly fit as possible going in to that.
So what can I be doing that will still let me work up a sweat but not further strain that muscle? I have some ideas--yoga, swimming--but again, I am not sure if even those will make it worse. Do I have to completely give up on my lower body and instead focus on seated upper body stuff? :( (I guess this is also a question for my doctor, or a physical therapist, but wanted to find out what you guys think before paying a $50 co-pay to be told "Stay off it".)
I go to the gym 2-3 times a week, doing a mix of cardio and weights for about an hour. In the past six months or so, I've gotten more into running (which I felt really good about, because I am so NOT a runner...I'm short and curvy, it's just never come naturally), and I also go at it pretty hard on the elliptical. I concentrate on long strides because I sit all day for work and have pretty tight hip flexors.
About two months ago, the back of my leg--right above the knee--started feeling particularly sore after working out, but I just figured it was because I was challenging myself ("no pain no gain!") and kept up my routine. Now it's sore pretty much all the time, even when I've taken a week off from the gym (I still walk at least 20 minutes a day with the dog). I feel it most when I stand up and straighten my leg, or take anything longer than little short steps when walking. On the advice of gym rat friends, I stretch everyday (on my back, with a towel around my leg sticking straight up) but I think that might be making it worse! Now it sometimes feel sore from right below my knee all the way up to the top of my butt.
So obviously something is messed up and I need to lay low, but I am avoiding giving up exercise altogether because I have to work pretty hard to keep my weight where I want it to be, and it also does wonders for my mental health, sleep quality, etc. Further, I'm planning on pregnancy in the next 6 months, and I really wanted to be as cardiovascular-ly fit as possible going in to that.
So what can I be doing that will still let me work up a sweat but not further strain that muscle? I have some ideas--yoga, swimming--but again, I am not sure if even those will make it worse. Do I have to completely give up on my lower body and instead focus on seated upper body stuff? :( (I guess this is also a question for my doctor, or a physical therapist, but wanted to find out what you guys think before paying a $50 co-pay to be told "Stay off it".)
Upper body ergometer (basically a stationary bike you pedal with your arms) if your gym has one, and/or swimming with a pull buoy. That’s what I did when I was rehabbing from ACL surgery.
posted by outfielder at 4:27 PM on May 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by outfielder at 4:27 PM on May 3, 2018 [1 favorite]
Have you checked whether it might be referred pain from a knot / trigger point elsewhere? Good massage therapists may be able to help with this, or a book on trigger point therapy.
posted by batter_my_heart at 5:06 PM on May 3, 2018
posted by batter_my_heart at 5:06 PM on May 3, 2018
Now it sometimes feel sore from right below my knee all the way up to the top of my butt.
Me too, the past month. And it turns out I had sciatica, probably from a disc in the lower spine pooching out a bit and pushing on a nerve. I was making it even worse by stretching. I’m better now because under the guidance of a good chiropractor I stopped stretching and instead started doing core strengthening exercises such as planks with the spine in a straight or neutral position. Do a web search for Dr Stuart McGill who is one of the experts. But whatever your problem is, abandon the “no pain no gain” philosophy when it comes to injuries. After all, you wouldn’t bang your thumb with a hammer after slamming it in a door.
posted by mono blanco at 8:11 PM on May 3, 2018
Me too, the past month. And it turns out I had sciatica, probably from a disc in the lower spine pooching out a bit and pushing on a nerve. I was making it even worse by stretching. I’m better now because under the guidance of a good chiropractor I stopped stretching and instead started doing core strengthening exercises such as planks with the spine in a straight or neutral position. Do a web search for Dr Stuart McGill who is one of the experts. But whatever your problem is, abandon the “no pain no gain” philosophy when it comes to injuries. After all, you wouldn’t bang your thumb with a hammer after slamming it in a door.
posted by mono blanco at 8:11 PM on May 3, 2018
Dude, you might have torn it, in which case you'll need to go easy on the hamstring use for like at least a month. Could you please just go to a physiotherapist?
They can confirm if it is safe to use but also they can give you some modified excercises that will not only keep you cardio fit but also improve your healing outcomes.
Also please stop stretching it and next time you hurt yourself put some ice on the injury and stop.
Also if you want to accomodate your short hip flexors you should be taking shorter strides, not longer ones; the longer your stride, the higher you have to lift your leg to propel yourself forward far enough to extend your leg far back!
Running isn't an ideal way to fix this problem, hypertonic hip flexors are a whole other ball game and probably (though not certainly) part of the reason this injured you in the first place.
Many runners have weak, taut, (they feel "tight", so people think they are hypertonic and need to be stretched, but please consider for a moment what an elastic band feels like when you stretch it...) overstretched hamstrings that are perpetually on the verge of injury.
I know I'm being the "go to a doctor!" killjoy on mefi today but ...RICE and physio. For reals.
posted by windykites at 8:24 PM on May 3, 2018
They can confirm if it is safe to use but also they can give you some modified excercises that will not only keep you cardio fit but also improve your healing outcomes.
Also please stop stretching it and next time you hurt yourself put some ice on the injury and stop.
Also if you want to accomodate your short hip flexors you should be taking shorter strides, not longer ones; the longer your stride, the higher you have to lift your leg to propel yourself forward far enough to extend your leg far back!
Running isn't an ideal way to fix this problem, hypertonic hip flexors are a whole other ball game and probably (though not certainly) part of the reason this injured you in the first place.
Many runners have weak, taut, (they feel "tight", so people think they are hypertonic and need to be stretched, but please consider for a moment what an elastic band feels like when you stretch it...) overstretched hamstrings that are perpetually on the verge of injury.
I know I'm being the "go to a doctor!" killjoy on mefi today but ...RICE and physio. For reals.
posted by windykites at 8:24 PM on May 3, 2018
First things first--I'd personally see a physical therapist more than a doctor (mostly because personal experience has been doctor just says rest, while physical therapist says, here's your problem in how you move and here's how to fix it). A good physical therapist worth their salt won't take long to really zero in on any weird gait issues/strength imbalances that could be aggravating your hamstring too.
That said, don't row!!! That push off the erg is pure hamstring/glute (very very very similar movement to deadlifts).
Yoga could be a good option. Just avoid the forward fold things and other poses that make your hamstrings feel tight. I've found that focusing on balancing and really trying to do the poses as right as I currently can to be strenuous enough (I'm coming off a gnarly injury and surgery that's kept me sidelined from my main workout of weights). Quite a few poses also help with glute activation without putting much strain on your hamstrings.
Also, instead of static stretching, try foam rolling over your hamstring. And foam roll those hip flexors (this will probably hurt like a bitch). And foam roll those glutes and quads and calves.
posted by astapasta24 at 8:32 PM on May 3, 2018
That said, don't row!!! That push off the erg is pure hamstring/glute (very very very similar movement to deadlifts).
Yoga could be a good option. Just avoid the forward fold things and other poses that make your hamstrings feel tight. I've found that focusing on balancing and really trying to do the poses as right as I currently can to be strenuous enough (I'm coming off a gnarly injury and surgery that's kept me sidelined from my main workout of weights). Quite a few poses also help with glute activation without putting much strain on your hamstrings.
Also, instead of static stretching, try foam rolling over your hamstring. And foam roll those hip flexors (this will probably hurt like a bitch). And foam roll those glutes and quads and calves.
posted by astapasta24 at 8:32 PM on May 3, 2018
please don't try exercising around your problem with the hamstring but see a physical therapist, DIY attempts to fix this can bring more harm than good (speaking from painful personal experience here). Also, be very careful about yoga as it will incorporate a lot of movements such as forward folds etc. that will make your hamstring worse, not better. So yeah, see a PT.
posted by coffee_monster at 2:42 AM on May 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by coffee_monster at 2:42 AM on May 4, 2018 [2 favorites]
Yes to a physical therapist! They can help with this kind of stuff.
Once you've done that, try boxing-type moves for the upper body/core. I did a lot of different punching (often while sitting on a ball to really engage the core) while I was nursing a sprained ankle a few years back.
posted by writermcwriterson at 7:59 AM on May 4, 2018
Once you've done that, try boxing-type moves for the upper body/core. I did a lot of different punching (often while sitting on a ball to really engage the core) while I was nursing a sprained ankle a few years back.
posted by writermcwriterson at 7:59 AM on May 4, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by fingersandtoes at 4:11 PM on May 3, 2018 [1 favorite]