How To Stop Pulling Your Hamstring

Has this happened to you? 

You were intentional about stretching, you concentrated on your form throughout your workouts. Then the first second you weren’t paying full attention or you just wanted to get that last deadlift repetition BAM you felt that all too familiar sensation...you pulled your hamstring again. 

How frustrating! You know how to stretch your hamstring before and after your workouts, you pay attention to your form yet you let your guard down for a second and now you’re going to be out of commission for the next six weeks while your hamstring heals AGAIN. 

You start to think of all the muscle gains you’re going to loose, how your training for the next road race has now be placed on hold. Not to mention the discomfort that you’re going to have every time you bend over to pick something up, when you walk, or getting in and out of your car.

That is exactly what Savannah thought when she called me.

She told me how she concentrated on her form with all her leg exercise and that she foam rolled before her workouts. She was working towards running a half marathon and now she can’t even do that because it hurts while she walks, let alone when she tries to run. 

At the time of our first call she was missing out on her stress relieving after work workout with her friends.  Not being able to run and or workout was hurting her family and work life since she no longer had her friend circle or her daily decompression after work. She felt disappointed in herself because she felt like she done something wrong and she should have known better. 

Before calling me Savannah made an appointment with her primary care doctor who offered to MRI her leg, but there was no bruise so the likely hood of a tear was low. He did give her prednisone to help with the swelling and pain. Then he told her what she was afraid of…”You need to rest for 6-8 weeks.” He also suggested that stop squatting, deadlifting or run since she keeps hurting herself. 

Thankfully that just set Savannah over the edge. She wasn’t going to just stop working out or running. 

When Savannah came in her first and most important question was “Why do I keep pulling my hamstring?” 

To answer this question I looked at several things such as: how her ankle, knee and hip move by themselves and all together. Since the hamstrings attach to the pelvis and the back of the knee, they affect and are affected by a lot of joints. 

After looking at these things with Savannah, I was able to identify a few things that weren’t quite in balance with each other.  This is how I created her personalized plan that would first stop her hamstring from hurting, then would progressively restore the balance in her pelvis and legs to prevent another hamstring pull. 

Savannah is back the lifting the same weight she was when she pulled her hamstring, She did miss the race she originally wanted to run but she is preparing for the next ½ marathon. 

So many people pull their hamstring and think they just have a “bad hamstring”. It is hardly ever just a hamstring issue, so if you are struggling to keep your hamstring healthy and pain free and this sounds like the type of care you are looking for please click this link to learn about the cost and availability click this link. 

If this is the type of care that you are interested in but you would like to talk to someone about your specific needs first please click this link to set up a phone appointment.

If you would like to my weekly blogs sent directly to your email go to this link, fill out the form..then 💥 you won’t miss any of the tips.

We understand you may want to find out a little more about the cost & availability of physical therapy before booking an appointment. If that's you, then click the button below.

Ask about Cost & Availability

If you're not quite ready to book an appointment yet, you might have some questions you would like answered first. Click below to request to speak with a PT first.

Talk to a PT