Hamstring Injury

[rayjag]

Just wondering if anyone has had a hamstring injury that has sidelined them. I originally hurt it sprinting at the gym and I made it worse stretching and sparring.

[isshinryu5toforever]

I haven't, but I have seen quite a few. There isn't much you can do other than rest it and rest it well.

[bushido_man96]

I haven't, but I have seen quite a few. There isn't much you can do other than rest it and rest it well.

That's pretty much right. I had one a few years back and seemed like it took forever to get over it. It actually hurt more when I used that leg as a base leg, especially on spin side kicks. The stretch it gave just really tweaked it good. Rest it well, then ease back into it.

[KarateGeorge]

I've hurt my hamstring in the past. As has been stated, rest it. It will heal over time, but it needs to be given the opportunity to heal. So rest it, and GENTLY stretch it to keep it from tightening up on you.

[rayjag]

Guess that's it then. Can't do much. It is tough teaching 6 days a week though. Sometimes I forget about it and demonstrate something and ouch!

[sensei8]

Rest is the optimal word, and in that, rest means....don't rush it.

[Kuma]

I'm just getting over a hamstring injury myself from overextending a spinning back kick. I felt the pull right off the bat and knew I had hurt it. It's still not 100% but thanks to frequent light stretching, walking and standing constantly (sitting down a lot tends to tighten them up and takes longer to heal in my experience), liniments, and mild exercise (walking mostly) it's healed up fairly well. We'll see tomorrow night in class.

[rayjag]

How long did it take it to heal Kuma? It has been almost two weeks since the last time I over exerted mine and it is a little better but still tender.

[Kuma]

About a week.

[Kuma]

Forgot to mention: when you hurt your hamstring, you don't actually want to stretch the hamstring itself, but rather your hip flexors and quads instead. That'll help a lot more.