Healing a Hamstring Pull/Minor Tear

[skid]

Rip,

I have a powerlifting meet in 2 weeks time and am wondering how best to heal a hamstring injury to get the best possible healing result ASAP.

Back ground:
4 days ago I was squatting 365 for my first rep, and as I descended and neared parallel with the weight I felt a very sharp pain in my right hamstring. I attempted to push the weight back up, but had to set it on the safeties due to the pain. I self-diagnosed myself with a grade 1 hamstring tear, as I could walk without limping, but could not squat very far down due to pain.

365 isn't that heavy for me and is a squat I normally perform easily. I was fully warmed up, had just finished a heavy deadlift single followed by 3x3 back off sets, and for my squats had progressively worked my way up from the bar to my training weight.

Post-injury I did the normal icing, anti-inflammatories, and rest. 2 days later I could BW squat to parallel with minor pain. Yesterday I could BW squat to parallel with almost no pain but could still feel some discomfort.

Today, I did the following squat workout (from my log):
I took a couple of Advils before I started, then applied a heat cream to both hamstrings. I did my usual 500M row warm up, being gentle as I pushed off with my legs. Then I rolled out my hamstrings with a roller.

Squats - Went slow on all descents as I initially injured my hamstring on the descent.
Bar - 3, felt ok but small amount of pain (didn't want to go past 3 reps on anything).
45kg - 3, went ok, but slightly more pain.
70kg - 3, same as above
95kg - 1, pain increased, debated on going heavier
120kg - 1, More pain, and didn't want to try anything heavier for fear of re-injuring my hamstring
70kg - 1, thought I'd do some back off sets of 3, but it hurt enough that I called it a day.

Based on today's results, how should I best proceed to heal this injury in the two weeks before my meet? Should I squat lightly every day or second day, or rest/heal a few days longer and try another squat workout? My next squat and deadlift workout is scheduled for Tuesday.

Stats:
Age - 54
1RM squat - 475
Weight - 225

Thanks for your time!

[Mark Rippetoe]

First, if you cut your arm, would you "roll it out" 4 days later? How would that make sense? Second, I would do an abbreviated version of the Starr, using several sets of 5 instead of the 20s instead of the normal approach, and using the RDL under very controlled conditions with very minimal rebound at the bottom. Squat after these. Realize that this may not fix it in time for the meet, and that there is no point in tearing up a hamstring for the sake of a sub-par total in one meet.

[skid]

Thanks for the advice Rip. Much appreciated! It's an important meet for me (IPF Worlds), so I want to do everything in my power to have a good showing. However, as you stated, it's not worth re-injuring myself either, so I'll see how the healing progresses before I make the final decision to compete.
Yeah, I didn't really think about rolling and its effect on a tear either...

[jbackos]

While training for my last meet, I felt a slight tweak in my right hamstring three weeks out. I used an abbreviated Starr protocol and proceeded as planned. It didn't affect my squats, and felt fine warming up for the deadlift. Opening deadlift - BANG, grade 2 strain.

[LimieJosh]

I guess I'll add my question here rather than in a new thread...

I’m pretty sure I have a tiny tear in my quad and I’m unsure whether to just ignore it.

Saturday afternoon I noticed a small, quarter-sized bruise in the middle of my quad (I do my heavy squat day on Saturday mornings). I’m clumsy and so frequently have bruises and cuts I did not notice when they happened, so assumed I had just walked into something. However, today I did light squats and it’s definitely a small tear. After each work set I felt a small burn where the bruise is, like a bee sting - noticeable but not a limiting factor. My initial thought is that it isn’t a big enough issue to alter my training, what with it being such a small area on such a large muscle, but don’t want to be stupid about it either.

Any thoughts other than just proceed as normal as see how it goes?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Did you feel the tear during the set?

[LimieJosh]

Did you feel the tear during the set?

No. I noticed it only on Saturday afternoon when I threw some shorts on and saw the bruise. I assumed it was just an impact bruise until the slight reaction this morning. There was no sensation during any rep, just a bit of a stinging sensation for a moment or two after I ended the set. Note, I did my deads yesterday and felt no reaction either.

[Mark Rippetoe]

It's probably a superficial bruise.

[LimieJosh]

It's probably a superficial bruise.

Yeah, figured. So, no excuse for not busting my arse on Saturday morning then. Thanks

[LimieJosh]

Yeah, figured. So, no excuse for not busting my arse on Saturday morning then. Thanks

I worked up to my planned triples at 400 and had no issue at all.