For my being so behind in the blog.
In May, Mark ran his first 5K, and did pretty well. The very next day he went skiing. (Before you ask, I forget where — someplace that still has snow in May.) He had pain in both sets of hamstring muscles after that, and as far as I can remember rested, iced, compressed, and elevated them as directed. They’ve been sore ever since, but he didn’t complain about them again until last month, when he somehow re-injured them after a day of helping a friend move. Now he’s unable to walk without pain.
This has changed the structure of our evenings, as you can imagine.
First he went to see a physical therapist, who prescribed some exercises and told him he’d feel better in two weeks. Two weeks later he is in even more pain. Yesterday and the day before he telecommuted from bed, to see if total bedrest helped. He’s scheduled to see a sports medicine specialist MD on Monday.
What we have figured out via Google is not very helpful. Almost all the information about hamstring strains instructs the reader what to do for them in the first 48 hours after injury. Very little goes on to say what an athlete can do if he’s still in intense pain six months later. NSAIDs are controversial—healing may be faster but re-injury is more common with their use. Corticosteroid shots get you back on the field to finish the season but don’t help longterm.
Mark’s not too happy about having to go back to the same specialist who offered him a vasectomy when he showed up to be evaluated for back pain six years ago, but since he’s the only doc who’s ever given him musculoskeletal advice that actually worked, back he goes. And don’t tell me he should see a chiropractor, because I’ve been suggesting it to him for years.
bearing blog 