Hi, today we will take a look at one sport injury that often afflicts treadmill runners – hamstring injuries. The hamstring is a group of 3 muscles located at the back of the thigh. Injuries to the hamstring may occur due to a whole range of reasons. Typical symptoms of hamstring injuries include pain, swelling, spasm, or restricted movement etc of the hamstring. I have outlined some things you should take a look into, if you are experiencing hamstring injuries.
1. Poor muscle coordination: If the hamstrings are weak or stiff, there occur chances of poor muscle coordination between muscles involved in running both above and below the knee. The normal quadriceps to hamstring muscle power during running is considered at 60:40. This could be hampered by either over-developed quadriceps or weak hamstrings.
2. Improper training: If you are a newbie, chances are that at some point you will try and over achieve – which means do too much too soon. Clocking huge mileages or running faster or for longer will overload the unconditioned muscles and can damage the hamstrings. Of course, the other usual suspects are worn out shoes and inadequate warm-up and cool-down.
3. Repeated Stress: By the time hamstring injuries are experienced in the form of pain, some damage has already been done at the micro-muscle-fiber level. When the deterioration begins, the runner may not even feel the change. After a few weeks of continuing with their workouts, they will begin to feel the discomfort, which will begin to impair their workout. By this time serious efforts are required to undo the harm.
4. Fatigue: Continuing with your workout after levels of fatigue have been reached could result in loss of coordination of feet or muscles of the leg. It also results in prolonged recovery time for neuro-muscular junctions. Together, they have the potential to harm the hamstrings.
5. Incomplete Rehab: When we come down with a hamstring injury, we should rest the area completely. Though we will still carry on with our living, we must not exert the hamstring through exercises. In our eagerness to get back to running, we often do not complete our recovery and run the risk of repeat injury since the hamstring muscles are still weak, recovering and not toned for strength through sports massages and strengthening exercises.
Next week, we shall see how we could beat hamstring injuries. Until then, train safe!