Problem with right hamstring

[jemag]

Hi,

Today as I was training for legs, I felt a really annoying stiffness/mild pain in my right hamstring. This happened last leg session too, but not as sharply as today. I don't really feel it much doing leg press or deadlift, but when I complete my movement in the lying leg curl ( at the end of the movement, where my legs are closer to my butt) I can definitely feel it very much.

I can train through it but I don't want to risk getting injured either. It also seems to lower my strength.

I am just wondering if anyone ever had the experience before or has any knowledge of what might be happening.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[jdmalm123]

It may seem counter-intuitive, but I would stretch my groin, hip flexor and foam roll my calves, glutes and ITB... if there's specifically a knot in my hammy, I would also massage that out.

[jemag]

It may seem counter-intuitive, but I would stretch my groin, hip flexor and foam roll my calves, glutes and ITB... if there's specifically a knot in my hammy, I would also massage that out.

Yeah thats actually a really good idea. I'll try to stretch everyday from now on.

I don't have any foam roller tho at the moment, I'll try to check if I can find any in Canada. Is that expensive? (I'm pretty poor for now) I heard really good things about foam rolling.

[SecondsOut]

Originally Posted by jdmalm123

It may seem counter-intuitive, but I would stretch my groin, hip flexor and foam roll my calves, glutes and ITB... if there's specifically a knot in my hammy, I would also massage that out.

^ this. i am totally opposed to stretching (lol) except in the case you described. i had sciatica about a year and a half ago, and it had a similar effect on my left hamstring. stretching definitely helped, as much as i hated it. thank God it healed up and i don't ever have to stretch again

[bruteforce]

Originally Posted by jemag

Yeah thats actually a really good idea. I'll try to stretch everyday from now on.

I don't have any foam roller tho at the moment, I'll try to check if I can find any in Canada. Is that expensive? (I'm pretty poor for now) I heard really good things about foam rolling.

foam rollers should be pretty cheap. you can always get a 4" diameter schedule 40 PVC pipe and use that to roll on too. Foam doesn't do much for my upper back, but the PVC really helps it a lot

[jdmalm123]

Originally Posted by jemag

Yeah thats actually a really good idea. I'll try to stretch everyday from now on.

I don't have any foam roller tho at the moment, I'll try to check if I can find any in Canada. Is that expensive? (I'm pretty poor for now) I heard really good things about foam rolling.

You could get by with a smaller 12" one. You can also use tennis balls and other balls for a similar effect.

Originally Posted by SecondsOut

^ this. i am totally opposed to stretching (lol) except in the case you described. i had sciatica about a year and a half ago, and it had a similar effect on my left hamstring. stretching definitely helped, as much as i hated it. thank God it healed up and i don't ever have to stretch again

standard stretching is not useful to me either. I prefer contract/relax stretching (per Pavel) or using light weights to work through a range of motion or moving against bands...

Originally Posted by bruteforce

foam rollers should be pretty cheap. you can always get a 4" diameter schedule 40 PVC pipe and use that to roll on too. Foam doesn't do much for my upper back, but the PVC really helps it a lot

Same here as far as upper back...I use a harder (black) foam roller for everything.

[Fazc]

Could be just a spasm, could be a small tear hard to tell from here. Stretching and massage are good, if you know why you're doing them! If it's a tear, the stretching and massage will help to reduce scar tissue build up as your body rebuilds. That's why you stretch and massage a muscle injury.

Either way I'd drop the leg curl, I'm fairly certain it injures more people than it helps.

[jemag]

Thanks a lot for all the suggestions guys.

I gotta say I'm glad I joined the forums, everyone is really helpful here.

I found a fairly cheap foam roller, so I will probably order it next week.

Either way I'd drop the leg curl, I'm fairly certain it injures more people than it helps.

Do you have any suggestion as for good leg curl replacement exercice? I would normally go for something like romanian deadlift but my back gets tired pretty easily and I already do conventional deadlift and squat in my current routine, so I'm not sure it would be the best idea.

[Fazc]

Stiff leg deadlifts, from the floor, beltless and preferably rounded upper back. The last bit is optional, depending on what you consider to be safe.

Start light, do it twice a week, add weight slowly working on form and stretch. Within 6 months you'll hit big weights and have stronger hammies.

[jdmalm123]

Originally Posted by Fazc

Stiff leg deadlifts, from the floor, beltless and preferably rounded upper back. The last bit is optional, depending on what you consider to be safe.

Start light, do it twice a week, add weight slowly working on form and stretch. Within 6 months you'll hit big weights and have stronger hammies.

Most tightness is the result of weakness at a certain ROM. Gently building strength at the point where you have any issues is curative.

A good exercise, with a reasonable weight and a full ROM is the best kind of stretching...lightly loaded, normal movement with decent reps will work out most problems...follow up with a little rolling, etc. and you'll recover quickly.