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Thread: Recurring hamstring/adductor pain following squats

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2012
    Posts
    2

    Default Recurring hamstring/adductor pain following squats

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    For the past 5(?) years of training I've had a nagging injury which often prevents me from squatting or deadlifting as often as I'd like. I'll squat with relatively high intensity and around 48 hours later there will be some very mild pain / spasming / cramping in this general location:

    leg.jpg

    The pain is primarily dull and it is difficult to pinpoint the exact location. Oftentimes I will aggravate it in my sleep and wake up to cramping and/or mild pain. The same can happen if I squat down to try and pick up something underneath my desk for example. What is strange is that there is no perceived pain during the initial workout or in the time immediately following my workout.

    When I try and squat or deadlift in the 48-72 hour window following the first workout I'll feel very little discomfort at first which increases quickly as intensity increases past maybe the 50% 1RM point. If I try and push through the pain it will eventually become so sharp as to force me to cut the exercise short. Generally speaking, the injury will seem to subside 48 hours later. So, for a timeline: Monday (initial workout, no pain), Wednesday (pain and inability to squat or deadlift), Friday/Saturday (no more symptoms of injury, great performance).

    Things I've tried:
    • modified ROM
    • modified volume (unclear if this is helpful)
    • modified intensity (appears to be helpful but limits progress)
    • modified tempo
    • variations of squat (safety squat bar, front squat, box squat, pin squat, ... )


    I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and how they remedied it. This injury severely hinders my ability to make long term progression. I'll oscillate between a 325 and 450 1RM depending on how often the injury decides to crop up in a given time frame. Thanks for the help

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2018
    Posts
    120

    Default

    I sometimes experience pain in the adductor, but it happens on my first rep of the work set. If I try to continue, the pain gets worse, so I have to stop. The pain will linger like you describe for a few weeks if I don't address it.

    At first I thought it was a muscle strain and I worked on my adductors using the adductor machine at the gym. But I eventually realized that it wasn't a strain, but more of a spasm that responded much better to stretching than strengthening exercises. So I make sure to stretch my adductors before squatting, even though I know that's not recommended practice, but it keeps me from injuring myself this way.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Long Island, NY
    Posts
    1,208

    Default

    I think you just need to manage the fatigue that Monday's session is generating better. Instead of doing sets across I would try a top set and backoffs or a ramp up to a top set approach and see how you do on Wednesday. Make only one set on Monday really hard and the rest of them more medium difficulty and see how it goes.

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