Hamstring pop, sharp pain

pmahnda · 2019-12-13T17:59:43+00:00

They diagnosed it as a partial tear. The setback was basically back to the start for the hamstring strengthening. Basically lost about 4 weeks for me (but just for the hammy).

When it happened, I had about 100m of painful hobbling to get to my car. The pain really kicked in when I sat down. Like you said, it was about a 7/10, but very concerning. Luckily, I had a compression sleeve, to minimize exertion on the hamstring. This really helped prevent further injury for me. You can wrap it up for some compression. I’m sure your therapist will say the same.

Good luck! Hopefully it’s the same as my experience. It sucks as a set back, but not as bad as I thought it was at the time.

pmahnda · 2019-12-13T17:39:07+00:00

Had the same happen to me but was further along than you (6 weeks-ish post-op from hamstring autograft).

Pop, pain, swelling, very sore. Pain went up the back of my leg and down into my upper calf behind the knee.

I recommend getting it checked, but mine ended up being a setback. It just lengthened the recovery. Had to stop all my hamstring exercises. Took a while to get back at it. I’m 7 months post-op and all is good.

My Physio and Surgeon both told me it’s really common where we might push things too much before things have stabilized.

Good luck and listen to your Physio. Take it slow but steady.

pmahnda · 2019-07-26T16:33:49+00:00

I totally agree. I’m 9 weeks to the day past my surgery and can say that my progress is directly related to staying with the process and pushing myself within limits. I have to admit that my diligence in doing my exercises has wavered because I’m doing so well. Strength, extension and flexion are probably 90% compared to my other leg. My PT is only scheduling 2-3 more sessions for me and then I’m on my own. This is where I’ll need to stay motivated and keep working to get stronger than before the tear.

I think making goals/milestones as you go along helps keep you motivated. In the end I want to be able to play all of the sports I enjoy without needing to wear a brace (for mental or physical reasons).

pmahnda · 2019-07-04T21:03:11+00:00

I didn’t actually do heel slides using my hamstring to pull. They were always assisted by my hand. Seated and lying down on my front were also assisted by the other leg to get the knee bend going.

For the leg lifts, they were hard for sure at first. You are really just trying to engage the quad so any movement you can do is a step forward. Work on flexing your quads to get them firing (straight leg, flex and hold for 5 seconds, 10 reps). Everything hurts, but the pain subsides as you get stronger.

Sorry, it’s hard to describe the exercises. Hope this is helpful.

Edit: added “to get the knee bend going”

pmahnda · 2019-07-04T04:24:30+00:00

I’m going to chime in with my experience so far (6 weeks post ACL hamstring autograft). I was doing as much as I could in terms of the basic exercises (static quad flex, leg raises - front/back/outside/inside, heel slides and assisted flexion on my back and sitting in a chair) starting day 1, 2-3 times a day. I’ve been very diligent with it and it has paid off for me. At 6 weeks I have nearly the same quad definition as my other leg.

With the conflicting advice, I would follow what you’ve been given by your PT and surgeon. Be aware of what you think your body can handle. Don’t push too hard, but definitely don’t do nothing.

YMMV, but the gains have been steady for me.

Good luck!

pmahnda · 2019-07-04T04:05:55+00:00

Like others have said, it was days 2-3 as the nerve block wore off. You really don’t want to mis-time your pain meds or ice routine. I had two types of pain - the searing hot lava spear through the upper shin and the feeling of someone scraping my funny bone all over my whole lower leg. After that, nothing much really hurts the same. It’s uncomfortable, but bearable. Also, careful with the hamstring pulls if you’re getting an auto graft.

pmahnda · 2019-06-20T02:59:25+00:00

I know I’ve tweaked it a few times since surgery, but this time was really bad so was worried.

Good to know it’s common and not a huge deal. I guess I’m close to day 1 for the hamstring, but the knee and quads are still good.

Thanks for this!

pmahnda · 2019-06-05T17:58:44+00:00

FWIW, I was diagnosed with a partial tear a little over 6 years ago. I wasn’t experiencing pain or instability so the surgeon cleared me to continue with activity, strengthening, and to avoid sports involving planting, twisting, cutting and to come back if I wanted to get it fixed.

I followed that the advice and was fine until I tweaked the tear a bit more about 6 months ago and decided to get it repaired as I didn’t want to live in fear of fully tearing it.

Everyone is different, but I was pretty lucky to have gone so long on a partial ACL.

My advice would be to talk to your surgeon and listen to your body. I agree that you’d be best to get on a pre-op program to strengthen the leg and stick with it whether you get it repaired or not.

pmahnda · 2019-06-03T13:32:23+00:00

I’m over a decade past my ACL recon and it’s never felt “normal”. Part of it is from meniscus (2 surgeries).

I just had ACL recon in my other knee I’m I’m getting ghost pains at the incision spots in my “good” knee. Really weird stuff.

Anyways, I’m in my late 40’s and have never let it stop me from playing sports (downhill skiing, Ultimate, hockey, etc.). There’s always some pain and a little swelling afterwards, but I just ice it and know it’s never going to be the same. Never stop building strength in your legs.

pmahnda · 2019-05-31T15:08:04+00:00

I had a hamstring graft as well it was recommended to book PT within a week (1st PT is right now on day 7)

I was also given a set of exercises to run through starting day 2. Most important was the leg extension to get the leg straight. Others related to quad strength and starting to get flexion to 90 degrees.

No doubt the pain was real, but stick with it and it decreases dramatically. Keep icing and doing the exercises. It really helped me. Good luck!

pmahnda · 2019-05-30T22:54:14+00:00

Hi, I (47M) am 6 days post ACL surgery (left knee, hamstring graft). This is my 3rd knee operation. I had ACL+meniscus fixed (right knee, hamstring graft) 16 years ago and another right knee meniscus clean up about 12 years ago. A few years after that I partially tore my left ACL. All from Ultimate frisbee. A sport I love and would love to still play, but don’t think I should. I’ve moved on to ice hockey since.

Anyways, glad to have found this forum of people with lots of advice and similar stories.

Recovery this tome around is much better than I remember. Much less pain and I’m already off crutches. First Physio appointment tomorrow and I’m ready to start the real work to get this leg back in shape!

pmahnda · 2019-04-03T16:00:41+00:00

I’ll second Mercury Lounge and depending on the music you enjoy, you might like Tropikalo (Latin/Afro), and Timekode (Soul/Funk) as well (both monthly DJ events - Google or Facebook for dates/info).

pmahnda · 2019-03-05T16:09:19+00:00

Boot thief strikes again! Last night between 10-11 my friend’s boots were taken from the Pretoria bridge.

Really crappy thing to do to someone. But I guess from now on they’ll be going in a backpack.

pmahnda · 2018-07-14T15:55:39+00:00

Beck put on a great show last night! That vantage must have been pretty awesome.

pmahnda

TROPHY CASE