Hamstring help

[DunbarFC]

This past Saturday pulled my right hamstring playing soccer. Actually felt a pop if you will. Immediately stopped playing. Been doing the RICE since

It's feeling a lot better

Now I know these things take time but here is the thing - in two weeks I'm doing the MS150 - a 150 mile bike ride from Boston to Provincetown to raise money for MS research and the like. Now through the ride I've been paired up with a "Partner in hope" , a 44 year old woman with MS. She's told me about how the disease struck her and how it's affected her family ( husband is recently retired Army and they have two kids. She's even coming down from NH to see the ride start and to meet me.

I'm not looking for a cure - just advice on how to properly wrap this thing so it can take pedaling all those miles over two days. I don't want to let her down, but then again I don't want to cripple myself for months afterwards

Any and all advice is most welcome

[sterling]

So it is feeling a lot better.....make no mistake about it.....this does not mean it is ready for a long bike ride / race. My advice to you is to not do the ride / race. Tell the lady what has happened to you. I am willing to bet she would not want you to injure yourself on her behalf. That said, if you are still hell bent on competing you might try the following:

Personal Therapy
ice, ice, SLOW warmup, SLOW warmdown

***NOTE*** You still have plenty of time to sort this out, Find a PROFESSSIONAL to wrap your leg. Ask the ride / race organizers if they are going to provide pre-event trainers. If they do not, contact a local PT school, Med school, Private trainer, or Track and Field Coach. I would not put it past any of them to donate their services for the cause.

Race Day
ice, SLOW warmup, Get wrapped, SLOW warmup, ride / race, SlOW warmdown, ice

I hope this helps and let us know how you do.

[gits]

During maybe two weeks into my track season I pulled my hamstring in a hurdle race pretty bad, I was out about maybe five weeks thus ending my chances for state. Starting from the first week I saw a massage therapist which helped me to at least start walking. He ran some microcurrent on my hamstring which helped greatly for about 3 weeks along with going to the local pool doing somestuff with an aqua jogger. But mainly what got me back into sprinting and hurdling was physical therapy. Ran some high speed stuff on the hamstring. Although that alone didn't get me to sprinting the physical therapist also taped my hamstring with a few pieces of tape. What he did was moved the muscle mass over to the side and tape it so it stays in place. What they told me was that the tape helps it reduce pain and helps me from pulling the hamstring again. The bottom line is I think that physical therapy is the best bet to getting back. Although the +700$ bill didnt go so well with the parrents.

[Warrior-Mentor]

Massage is a good way to help accelerate the healing by getting the blood flowing, but not sure you'll be ready for 100+ mile bike ride in a couple weeks.

Remember you have to live with this body for years to come...take care of it.

[Bill Harsey]

Anytime you guys get a muscle rip, especially the hamstring, that's some slow healing.
Be sure to stretch carefully when your warming up because the place that's hurt will stretch the least.
By warming up and stretching slowly and carefully before going hard, you protect the injury site.

Any medics want to jump in here? I don't know if this is now good advice.

This is what i learned from two very good tears of my hamstring while logging the big stuff in Oregon.

Healing time of nine months plus before all the pain went away.

[swatsurgeon]

google on : proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation
it will take you to a new level of 'stretched' ...also good as a pre-stretch for PT

[hoot72]

I have been visiting a chinese medicine shop (small little room at the back of traditional chinese medicine shop) since 97 for help on my pulled hamstrings and knocks from soccer and found that there is a traditional chinese method of using suction cups on the area where you have the injury. A good 30 minute session with these suction cups not only relieve's the pain but also clears out the blocked vessels and allows for blood to flow, those allowing the hamstring to heal alot faster.

Once finished, you feel as good as new but you're left with blue and black marks from the treatment which do go away after a week or so and the fact you cant really push it as much as you want but its a hell of a lot faster than going for physiotheraphy.

I am not sure if they do have medicine shops in china town in Seattle or other cities that have this treatment available..