Hamstring Tendinopathy..

[Dastardly]

I have jumped into other peoples threads a few times regarding the various problems I have with my knees, Such as here

But I felt it was really worth making a new thread for this, after I had a good search and I was suprised to see that there were no threads on hamstring tendinitis/tendinopathy already.

So my issue is that I had a mystery knee ligament injury in march last year. I rehabbed it best I could which also involved squatting as soon as possible.

I briefly saw a therapist a couple times in the summer, who advised stretching my hamstrings. The strange issue was that whenever I apply enough tension to stretch the hamstring on my affected leg, it feels to me that they are pulling on something inside my knee which is very painful and fragile feeling. From anatomy pictures I have seen, the hamstrings just attach to the tibia so this is hard to figure out.

So my left hamstring has continued to become easily extensible without much attention to stretching, but my right hamstring does not despite rather fervent stretching - as any direct tension hurts the knee.

Now to get to the tendinopathy part!

Since squatting post injury, as the weights started to get challenging. (around june I guess) I started to get a soreness on my right leg hamstrings that would not go away. This soreness was directed mainly at the hip end attachments. And felt like it affected at both a medial and lateral hamstring.

I did not feel it much when squatting so it didnt really bother me too much and I just continued to squat as normal. But the pain during stretching was annoying, now that it was both at the knee, and at the hip end.

I found that turning foot outward while doing hamstring stretches reduced pain in the knee, but the pain at the hip end was just as great.

Over the the past few months this permanent soreness has continued to grow and grow. Deloading and switching to starting strength in January has helped me break a long time plateau and train the squat much more consistently than during the end of last year.

But this consistent, well structured training with heavier weights, sets across than I have done in a long time has really taken its toll on this hamstring. It is finally starting to become a problem during squats, I hamstring feels sore and fragile.

It is not so painful that I cannot squat, but I was starting to get me paranoud that I was perhaps pushing myself in the direction of a hamstring tear.

So I just looked up some of my symptoms, and it seems I have blasted right through tendonitis! My symptoms for the past few months seem to closeley fit those of hamstring tendinopathy.

What I have read regarding dealing with it is confusing and conflicting.

What can the athlete do?

* Reduce inflammation through rest, ice or cold therapy.
* Once pain and inflammation has gone develop a stretching and strengthening programme.
* For chronic hamstring tendon injuries there is likely to be muscle tightness and weakness which can be treated through massage, stretching and strengthening.

I have been increasingly trying to keep my legs very warm these days due to my knee problems.

Could a bit of rest and ice really help that much? I was forced to take off 3 weeks from training during christmas because gym was closed, but it didnt help the slightest bit.

I have always consitently stretched, but with the problems explained. Could muscle tightness really be a cause?


I was hoping you could help me out on this Rip. Do you know of a good way to be sure that I have tendinopathy/tendinosis ?

You must have come across many trainees who have had such problems with their hamstrings. Do you have any advice on how to deal with it?

If I have to rest it, what kind of timescales are we talking about? And can I still deadlift?

Also, do you know if I am causing myself any harm by continuing to train through it? Any permanent degeneration or increased likelyhood of tearing?

Your advice would be much appreciated. I have so many problems with my body, I just want to go lift!

[Lawrie Abbott]

Have been having same issue with high hamstring. Been training through it but crapped out today on Sq & DL.

Finally found a similar issue on the forum but no responses~

Any suggested extra exercise/ treatment to improve condition?

Thank you

[mrcosmic]

If the problem has been going on for as long as it has, it won't get better with rest, because it's no longer a problem due to inflammation. The tendon didn't remodel properly, so now you have to force it to remodel properly. Rest is only good for tendinitis that is brand new.

Just take lots of ibuprofen for the next week. Continue doing the program. Train through it. If the pain becomes unbearable, maybe deload a bit. Also see:

http://startingstrength.com/resource...273#post902273

That advice is for elbows. Maybe you could try doing it with RDLs or something.

IANAD

[Lawrie Abbott]

Thanks...have been training through it but yesterday was a perfect storm of a cold, a dodgy left hammy and the reconstructed right knee. Not the day to go for a PR

I recorded the first and only SQ set.........I was swaying from leg to leg...... didn't make depth and was grunting like a pig...all for nothing.

If someone else recorded it they would have been able to post it in the "end and pieces" as I was wearing my new shoes and took for ever to get psyched up......then performed a crap set.

chhers

[mrcosmic]

Thanks...have been training through it but yesterday was a perfect storm of a cold, a dodgy left hammy and the reconstructed right knee. Not the day to go for a PR

I recorded the first and only SQ set.........I was swaying from leg to leg...... didn't make depth and was grunting like a pig...all for nothing.

If someone else recorded it they would have been able to post it in the "end and pieces" as I was wearing my new shoes and took for ever to get psyched up......then performed a crap set.

chhers

Take weight off and build up with good form