Another Step Backwards

Lots of sympathy Walshy, hamstring injuries are so frustrating.
Sadly it's logical really though (even if it only took me 6yrs of
pain, wrecked races & temper tantrums to figure it out)
* the injury happened cause I was doing something that
damaged it.
* If I didn't change anything then the damage would
keep happening.
Runners are good at running through pain, the problem
is if you don't listen to a hamstring then it eventually quits
on you so you can bearly hobble (or detaches).
For me I had weak core muscles & I was running
inefficiently. I had been doing crunches etc by the  100s
for yrs but using the wrong muscles. For me pilates (you need
someone who really knows what they're talking about) then
returning to my past in track & doing drills. Preceded by NO
running & lots of physio to let it heal & break down scar tissue,
finally worked. After over 2 yrs I ran smoothly & confidently
& reached the 42 k mark in an off road 54k training run in
3:21 easily (Most of the Fitzroy Falls course). Ran strong,
fast & freely.
Sadly I then delayed racing because of work pressures & then
off course my world turned upside  down because my
co-ordination began to die.
Don't waste time reinjuring yourself, fix the cause.
An exercise physiologist might be a start.
Good luck, lots of good luck
Lindy

Walshy, Just read your blog.

Take the longer view. Sensible to give yourself time to recover. You have hit some big targets this year, and you want to keep being able to run and enjoy over the long term.

Enjoy the time off / switch to other activities to keep aerobically fit, and the climb back won't seem so daunting.

John

Mate, you have had an awesome year!  Smashed it. Rest up and come back hard in 2011.

Hope it heals quickly

RH

Walshy -- I'm suffering from almost exactly the same problem so I know how you feel. However, I only started getting niggles in October this year, and finally went to a physio a few weeks ago, so my tendinopathy is lagging behind yours -- much like I'd be lagging behing you in a race.

I'm kind of repeating what Lindy is saying, but it seems that the physio I'm seeing is taking a bit of a different approach to your physio. Rather than trying to directly treat the symptoms (although there's a bit of that), he's looking at my bio-mechanics. Apparently my pelvis is out of wack, which means that I get issues where the hamstring tendons insert into the pelvis, and he's trying to get the pelvis to generally sit and move better. However, somewhat differently to Lindy, my problems are more with the glutes than the core. Every runner is an experiment of one as they say.

It's still too early say whether I'm having much luck with this approach (maybe I'll be able to start running again in the New Year), but if you feel like doing a bit of physio shopping and maybe trying a different approach I could PM you my physio's details.

Good luck!

Mr Plod (aka limpy right now).