Healing a Hamstring Pull/Minor Tear
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!