(The picture is just to show where the hammy is. I don’t have a tear.)
I finally broke down and went to see a doctor today. I found an awesome sports doctor who is also the doctor to the Tampa Bay Bucs. I had a feeling he wasn’t going to tell me to RICE or stop working out like many “regular” doctors will. He also knew which exact race I was doing when I told him I was most concerned about my tri next month. You gotta love a doc who knows the local race circuit.
Basically the doctor said since Gasparilla was so hot I was probably dehydrated and that factors into a lot of injuries. He said he’s been seeing a lot of folks who ran that race and tweaked something here or there. He had me lie on my stomach on the table and bend first my right leg toward him and then my left leg. He said he could see where the left hammy wasn’t firing as it should be.
Overall the prognosis isn’t terrible. He prescribed physical therapy and told me not to run. He also told me to ice and NOT to stretch it. The good news is that I can still cycle and swim but I’m going to cut some of the spinning down because the resistance training seems to trigger it. I actually look forward to the PT because I’ve seen a lot of great results from you all who have gone to it. Hooray for health insurance!
The doc also mentioned how rational I seemed about the healing process. Heh. I’m not really panicked about this injury for a few reasons. First of all, I’ve been injured before. I’ll heal and life will go on. I do these races to stay in shape and have fun. Not to make myself permanently hurt. Secondly, it could always be worse. The doc said it wasn’t too bad and that I’d be good to go before St. Anthony’s. Lastly, all I really want is to be healthy for a 70.3 in the fall.
As far as the relay is concerned next week I’ve got a few options and at least by then I’ll have given myself a full two weeks of rest.
Have a great weekend peeps! Me, Dolly, and the pool are going to be spending a lot of time together…..
I like your attitude. And I am glad to hear it's not a horrible prognosis. I am super excited to know we can still ride this weekend. 🙂 You might need to give me info for the doc. If my ankle still hurts next week. I might bite the bullet and go to the docs finally.
What a great way to think of this injury! I do hope your hammy feels super soon! You're right….focus on the Fall!!
Well, I guess at least it's something that will get better soon! Let's hope Dolly had nothing to do with this 🙂
your brain is in the right place! and this is pretty close to what I did to my calf so hopefully it will heal up right quick!
Wow, you went to the doctor for that? I would have limped around another 3 months! He could see your hammy not firing? Woman, you got skillz………….. Get well.
Sure – it is not an issue as you are still in the "new phase" for tris! Wait until it is your 4th or 5th St. Anthony's or 1/2s and you have a baseline to improve upon! Just kidding – glad it is not too bad. And now you can bike and swim your a$$ off!!
Besides the dehydration – it probably was the pulling of the Pirate Gear on the Gasparilla 8K! LOL
I'm towards the end of my first PT experience and I have been so impressed about how quickly it helped with my glute/piriformis issue. I'm sure it will really help your hamstring!
Hope you recover quickly! Sounds like you have the right doc in your corner…enjoy the pool this weekend, I may even spend some time in one myself…
Glad it's nothing too serious. Pulled a hammy a couple years back and it healed surprisingly fast for an old guy. That was what led me to discovering compression shorts, and I've worn them ever since.
Little known fact … the proper term is BRICE. Somehow folks seem to forget the 'Beer' part. Really the most important element to proper recovery.
Good doctor, I like his approach and knowledge and I especially love your attitude towards it. Exercise is not supposed to hurt & I agree we should enjoy what we do not suffer through 🙂
WOW…I've been having these same problems…but was stretching in order to try and help it! I just started icing and can already tell a difference. Thanks, and hope you heal quickly!!!!
Glad too hear it's not too serious and hopefully you'll be good to go in no time!
Boring. Seriously, this is why I never leave a doctor's office without throwing as many of the tongue depressors as I can find and yelling about how all the popsicle sticks are empty, stuffing all visible cotton into my pockets, and insisting I get a free toy like I did when I was little and went to the dentist.*
* See what I did there, I made it all about me. I hope you rest and fix your hammy.
Really happy to hear you will be healing quickly and it's nothing serious. Injuries seriously suck!
And I never RICE, I much prefer MICE. I can't possibly rest when I'm used to workout 4-6 times a week. So I changed "rest" to "move" basically move in a way that doesn't aggravate the injury further. Moving promotes blood flow = faster healing! happy cycling and swimming to you! 🙂
Phew…..don't want any injuries for sure.
Best wishes getting the hammy back in running condition. It takes awhile for those muscle injuries to heal. Give it the time it needs.
I some how find consolation in getting a reason for my pain. I never stretch things that hurt ANYMORE! I really think it does more harm than just leaving the poor damn thing alone. 🙂