Hamstring tear: the first 48 hours and early recovery

You're listening to the Restoring Human Movement podcast, where movement experts discuss the latest evidence-based practices to help you and your clients move with mastery. Hey everyone, it's your co-host Sebastian with the Restoring Human Movement podcast. Thanks for joining the Movement Movement. In this show, I am going to do another live update with a hamstring tear. If you've listened to some of the other podcasts that I've done on hamstring tears, it was, so I'll give you some timelines on things, but the moral, the reason I want to do this one today is because I tour one again, and it was the opposite one this time, but I am seeing a lot of commonalities.

This is my fourth time over the course of 20 years or so, but this is the second time this year, second time in the last six months, actually, so this is not a good scenario in regards to frequency of having a problem reoccur, and I'm going to share some of the things that, you know, things come up every time I have an injury. I feel like I learn from it a little bit, and so it helps refine a little bit more of what I've, what could possibly help you guys when you're dealing with something like this. So I'll give you a basic timeline of things. If you haven't listened to the other podcasts as well, I'll show it, recap, and then we'll get in some parts.

So in, I believe it was October time last year, and right now I was recording this. This is in March. So I tore my hamstring back then. It was on my right leg. It happened during a baseball game. I play recreational baseball still. I hit during the week. I throw during the week. We play on Sundays. Excuse me. And I had a big buildup in amount of games that I was playing. So typically I play one game a week. And at that point during later in the year, there was another team that I played on where I played a second, not a second full game, but I would rush off to another game and put some time in and get some at Bath and Sprint.

And also we played a tournament, which was quite a bit of games. It was seven games over the course of about four days. It was on like a Labor Day tournament. So I believe at that point, the thing that was creating the risk associated to having a hamstring tear was that at that point, my hamstrings did feel pretty tight pretty often, like more so than normal. I was also doing some new weight training. I was doing more kettlebell swings, which not that I haven't done them in the past, but we were doing different versions of kettlebell swings and some of the lateral swings and stuff like that. It wasn't heavy, heavy weight, but it was definitely different for me.

And there was a few days where I felt my hamstrings a little bit tight after that. Not to say they created it, but just another variable in it. And at that point, it was the very last game of the season. I hit a ball out to right field, which I thought could be a double. So I rounded first base hard and I felt my right hamstring pop as it contacted and I turned on first base. So I came out of the game immediately. One of the key factors with diagnostic purposes is that I felt and heard a pop followed by immediate disability, and it will probably end up being bruising. I did have bruising last time about five days that came following the original injury.

And so those are the factors which usually indicate some type of tear. Everybody has different types of bruising or severities of bruising rather. Sometimes it goes, pulls up behind the knee, no matter where the tear is at. And sometimes it goes to the bottom of the foot based upon how severe it is. Now, I could tell you last time that it was very hard with my right leg, my driving leg, my pedal leg, to actually do things like driving. Like, it was very hard to drive back home because as soon as you bring your leg up off the pedal or foot up off the pedal, it was very painful. It was like my hamstring was gripping, if you will.

And it took me about, it took me a week to get back into actually going to a game. I think my, I call her my girlfriend wife. She's like, we're not married, but we've been together a long time. She thought, she thought I was crazy. She's like, I don't think you should, you don't really need to go to the game. And so I'd paid a lot of money to go to a game at, at Angel Stadium. And all I did was basically half-ass jog around and get balls from batting practice. And I warmed people up in the field. It was pretty disappointing to not be able to play it. I'd paid a lot of money for it, but also I wanted to do it.

I was there. And so at that time, I, I told the coach that I did not want to be put in the game defensively because I know what'll happen. I'll end up chasing a ball and I'll feel like I want to get it. And then I'll probably try to sprint more. And so I, during that week lead up to it, I've noticed that things that are common from last time are also common this time. It seems like a pattern that develops. Laying on my back actually does not feel super good. But if I propped my leg up and kind of let my knee or my hip flop out like in a frog position, I can get pretty comfortable. And there's times where I don't really feel it at all, even within the same day.

And the funny thing though, is getting up and, you know, getting something because I was laying on my back is the movements of getting up and like having to stand around and bend over, like those were painful. And it was to get back down in the position that was comfortable to me was when I first got into it, it was very, it was still painful. It was painful for like five minutes. And then after I lay there and just relax a little bit more, it would go away. Like every time, like last time I slept and I didn't, I tore it yesterday and last time I slept, didn't really even wake up at all. And I didn't really have any pain.

So just pain mainly with movement. But, you know, I, I'd spoken to a friend about timelines for loading. Last time I was still up on my feet within a week, easily, I went to work the next day and did knee dominant movements like squats with one of my clients. And that was perfectly fine. Right now I can do the same thing. I can, I can feel it. I haven't done it yet today, but I can feel it. But last time I think the difference was that I stayed away from even isometric loading of the hamstring for at least two weeks. And I texted a friend this morning and we were talking about my own problem, but also one of, one of my clients, he tore his Achilles.

And so he referred me to a podcast that they have in the Tim Ferriss show recently. They were talking about mainly tendon loading and then isometrics and timelines associated to that. And my friend's pretty, he digs into research pretty frequently and keeps up to date. And so I trusted judgment on it. And so I said, that Achilles, how do you, how soon do you think we're going to load that Achilles on that, on that client that I was working with without bothering him? He's like, he could do it almost immediately. Like he had a surgery like last Thursday. And so we can do, he said, basically as soon as he's, you know, able to get the cat, you have the cast on right now.

And so once he gets the cast off, yeah, we can, we can load it. But if he didn't have a cast off, we can do it sooner. For me, he suggested isometric, but long hold isometric loading. So lower load, but also doing it very quickly. And at least with tendons, what he had referred me to, and I remember reading this paper a long time ago as well, is that if you deload a tendon within, I think it was two to three weeks, like the, the alignment of some of the, the fibers in the cells become haphazard and which is more classic of something like scarring. So you can almost create a simulation of an injury just by deloading the tissue too long.

And this is again, of course, at two to three weeks. So the goal here is to be smart and not go back and sprint or deadlift or swing or do anything that's going to stretch the hamstring too much, but also put some load into it. And I'm planning on doing that today as I'm driving in my car, talking to you guys, I can actually drive, dig my heel a little bit into the floorboard of the car for about 10 seconds and giving myself about 50 seconds break. So I'm planning on doing about 10 minutes of light, some form of non-painful isometric loading today, just to make sure that I, I am able to, to organize those cells, especially as they start to formulate into that area.

I can tell you from like a mental point of view though, that last time was very hard. I told one of my friends that, you know, it was like, it's, it's depressing. Like I got home and I actually cried. Like, I don't really cry too much. I was, I was very disappointed. And for all of you out there who have suffered from a hamstring injury, it, like the things that you do with your leg, and I'm sure this is with lots of different injuries, like the physical nature of it is like you like, yeah, it hurts, but probably what's more frustrating is, at least for me is thinking that you won't be able to do the things that you want anymore.

You won't be the same person anymore. So like, I feel like part of my benefit or the benefit to the team is being fast. So I don't know my 40 times. I don't know my a hundred times, but I rarely get thrown out dealing bases. I cover a lot of ground in the outfield and, and we've talked about even like managing some playing time. Like you obviously want to have people play who have the best range to get to get the balls, right? So you want to be useful to the team. And I feel there's a lot of identity associated around that, or at least for me of being faster. So what if you just took that attribute away?

Would you stick that, that ability away? Like, who would you be? And I wrote this in my book a long time ago, I will be back pain with a similar thing is like you, there's, there's plenty of athletes or people who are, I don't want to say just athletes, like professional athletes, just like people who build their life around a passion of a sport or being physical. Like you take that attribute away. And a lot of times they have mental anguish or depression associated to it. So I can totally see that. So the first time I felt very depressed about it and I felt good about it. Actually, I came back.

I, I was able to steal a base last week against the guy that throwed very hard and it was a really good catcher. So I feel good. I felt like myself again. And the key is like feeling like yourself this time, you know, it happens a second time within a short timeframe. You know, you got to wonder, like, maybe I should not try so hard anymore. Like maybe I'm too old for this. Maybe, you know, I need to pick a different position. You know, there's plenty of people who go in and play second base or some other type of position because they can't really cover as much range anymore. And I don't want to do that.

So I think my mental state this time is better. And I am very happy with all my teammates. And I, so again, I played two games yesterday or partly. And so there's a, there's a team where I know a bunch of the guys, but I'm not always on the team. I practice and play with them over the years. It's, you know, the, the league is tight knit. People know people. And so I, I left their game and went to my game and I heard of my game and I played against some of the, some of the guys that I played against in the second game, I played with them as well. And so I was, I was, I was texted by a bunch of people yesterday and today, and I'm so thankful for the support and, you know, people asked, you know, how are you doing?

Hey, I've been, I've had injuries before too. Don't worry, you'll get through this and so on. And so I don't feel like maybe I've had enough injuries over my life to realize that the support is sometimes more useful than giving a suggestion. So at this point, when people have asked me like, how you feel, well, I mentally, I feel, I, I feel disappointed and physically I feel disabled. You know, I couldn't even walk upstairs as of yesterday. Like I got, like I was getting into the shower and I got caught, like I couldn't pick my leg up, my foot up over the, the floor mat, the rug. I was stuck on the rug.

You know, I couldn't take my socks off. Couldn't take my pants off, you know, without struggling. And today is much better. So I probably don't want to do this podcast today to show that there is a mental and physical part of it. I think the more you go through it, the more it's just, I don't want to say the mental part's not quite as bad, but it's, it's different. You know, like I, I know I'll probably be back in about a month in some form. I shouldn't expect to play next week. I, but also it's important to get a grasp on that. I will come back. And I've had plenty of teammates over the years where they don't come back.

Like they hurt themselves and then they fall by the wayside. You never see them again, at least playing on the field. And I think it's, it's disappointing because they are, a lot of them are young. They're in their twenties and thirties. And I play with a bunch of guys who are in their, in their fifties, sixties. There's one guy, two guys who actually play, they're in their seventies, you know, and there's different expectations we have of them, but they're out there socially. It's important, but also like physically, like they're in, they're in great health, at least considering, considering age.

Right. So if you guys don't know me already, I'm 42, I think at this point, maybe 43. So maybe it is time to hang up the cleats or play a different position. I always reserve the right to change my mind, but I think I've met enough people over the years who have gotten back to the sport and been very happy. I don't even want to say successful as in like being who they were, but it's more about just being happy and, and being content with how you contributed to the team and seeing everybody. So my plan today is I will do those isometrics. I will do knee dominant stuff. I'm going to go for walks and I feel like it's the last time I actually didn't go to the gym for a couple of weeks.

I haven't decided yet if I want to go to the gym and limp around a bit and do random crap. But certainly when I'm at work, we have a bunch of weights there and I will probably do random crap just to keep myself active. So if you guys have been suffering with a hamstring tear, if you want to get some suggestions or advice or condolences from someone who's been dealing with it, this is my fourth time now over the course of 20 years and second time within six months. So I, I, I feel you man or woman. So I feel for you, you will get better. It just depends on when, and you can challenge yourself quicker than anything.

So if you guys want some help, uh, remember we do have consultations available and we do have telehealth and all you have to do is contact us at one four five zero two four two four three or email us info at p2sportscare.com. I'll do some updates again on this last time. I'm not going to say I wish I did more, but like, I don't want to talk about it a bunch. It's very hard, you know, like I, I asked my girlfriend, wife to take some videos of me like periodically when I'm not paying attention to, so I can have documentation of it, but I don't want to set up a camera. I don't want to videotape my rehab.

I don't want to do any of that stuff. You know, I just want to do it and go on about my life and that's, but I'll do my best to document for you guys, for your, for, for your education. All right, everybody stay tuned to the next show and I'll see you. then.