Help with an injury

[John Ruprecht]

I'm looking for some advice on an injury I sustained on Monday. For the past two weeks, I'd been dealing with a sore left hamstring that had inhibited my stride a little but wasn't too bad. I felt in initially after a steady/hard run through ice and slush on a cold evening. Then on Monday, about 9 miles into a long run and 7 miles from my car, the pain really started shifting to the lower, inside of my hamstring. The pain was bad enough that I stopped to stretch twice, walk twice and hobbled back to my car. Now, the pain seems to be toward the back of my knee on the tendon that (I think) connects the hamstring to the knee. It's not sore to the touch, but running was out of the question for yesterday and today.

I have a couple of questions maybe someone can help with: what did I injure? what is the likely cause? what's the best treatment option?

Thanks in advance for help with this. Since joining the blog about 2 months ago, I'm running a lot more miles than I have in a long time and was really motivated with my training. I hope this won't set me back.

[Ruth Hilton]

Does it hurt in the center of the back of your knee or more to one side? If it hurts toward the inside, it might be something like an injury I had recently - I had tendinitis in knee end of the semimembranosus (medial hamstring). So it is possible that you have something of that nature going on, like tendinitis. 

[Paul Petersen]

Sounds a little bit like what I'm going through right now: hamstring tendinitis. Mine is in the insertion point of the ischium (my rear end), but you can get the same thing at the insertion point of the knee. It sounds familiar to mine, because mine developed as a minor ache resulting from running on snow and ice. Then I blew it out and made it really bad during a hard workout a few days later. I literally had to walk home, and I haven't ran since (been about four weeks).

Suggestions:

• Ice
• Heat
• Deep massage
• Ibuprofen (if you react well to it)
• Gentle stretching
• Chiropractic (might be caused by rotated hips)
• Physical Therapy

[John Ruprecht]

Ruth, the pain is on the side of the knee where you can feel the two big tendons that attach to the hamstring. Mine is on the inside of my knee.

Paul, thanks for the advice. I'm hoping I won't be out four weeks but I guess it's not out of the question. I hate taking time off after getting on a little bit of a roll. By the way, I saw your race at the Trials in November. I was running the NYC Marathon the next day. I remember seeing you run because a guy I talked to at a race this fall, Drew Michner, said that a guy he ran with (you) was hoping to make it to the trials. Drew and I went to the same high school, though I am a few years older than him. I also remember seeing the guy with bloody nipples, which I think was Logan. I remember telling my brother to remind me to wear nip guards or put some glide on for the marathon the next day.

[Ruth Hilton]

Sounds about the same as what I had going on - I took off a couple of weeks and kept fit by biking and swimming. To aid with recovery, I iced often, went to a physical therapist, had a deep tissue massage, took Naproxen, and came back to running more gradually. For however much that helps. Good luck with your recovery!

[Paul Petersen]

John - that's cool you went to the same high school with Drew. Several of us here on the blog have run a couple relays with him. I've tried to talk him into joining the blog.

Hopefully your injury will go away fast. I've heard that the closer the injury is to your core, the longer it takes to heal. That is probably why mine is taking so long. Since yours is at the knee, you might have better luck.

[Jon Allen]

Paul- Drew is actually on the blog.  He joined a long time ago.  He just never writes.