Hocam

Let's pool our knowledge on something that sucks more than getting dropped; being injured.

I seem to have developed tendinitis in my hamstring near the knee. Started when I pulled it during a sprint before I was totally warmed up, then kept re-injuring it after not taking enough time off. Any advice? I'll probably make a PT appointment tomorrow but more than likely it'll be a 3 week wait.

Snicklefritz

I'd take it easy until you can get an appointment with an MD or PT person who can evaluate the situation. If you've already sensed that recent workouts are "re-injuring" it, then listen to your body and take time off. It's not worth making the problem worse and needing an even longer recover than you otherwise might need.

ridethecliche

Stay off the bike.

Done.

agoodale

Taking it easy is a good idea. Staying off the bike completely didn't work too well for me.

I found that light exercise (including cycling), stretching, and wearing a thigh sleeve worked best. I also iced the leg at least twice a day and directly after exercise. I did try PT first but my inexperience with hamstring problems and some bad PT resulted in a case of piriformis syndrome.

waterrockets 

Don't do anything that hurts or irritates it. I had a similar problem back in 2007. I lowered my saddle 1cm for a month and was able to get some power down with zero pain. No intensity, because I didn't want the position to mess with my knees, but I was fine with endurance/low tempo stuff.

Talk to the professionals though.

ridethecliche

This thread is bad mojo.

grolby

Hoo-boy. A good one is not to make any adjustments that you think will help, because you might be mistaken about the nature of the injury (or its cause) and aggravate things. Remember the leg problem I was having? Actually, it's not all gone, but that's beside the point; I was putting shims under my right cleat because I thought that leg was shorter. I thought that leg was shorter because I was rocking onto that sit bone and reaching with that hip and generally had all of my injury associated with that leg. When I saw my PT after having learned that my left leg was shorter, he was very interested to know why I was such an idiot. So I actually exacerbated the imbalance by attempting to correct for it, which has made recovery a much more prolonged prospect.

ETA: So what I'm suggesting is biting the bullet and not riding for at least the three weeks until you see the PT. He/She might want you to stop riding for a while anyway; if that's true, you've got a headstart. If not, you haven't made it any worse.

By the way, I hope your back is doing better (that was you, right? Geez, I suck). it's been a rough last few months for you, man.

agoodale

It's definitely a tricky injury to deal with because the cause may be any number of things. I was lucky that one day Dr. Brent Kay from the OUCH sports clinic (Bahati team sponsor) joined us on a ride. He recognized me as a patient and after a few words I asked him to look at my position. He suggested I raise my saddle by 1cm. He explained that too low of a saddle can activate the hamstrings too much on the down stroke. Things started to slowly get better after that point.

But that was my problem and WR obviously had a different problem.

If you can find a Dr. or a PT that actually rides a bike that would really help.

waterrockets 

Raise it! Lower it! Yeah, seek pro help.

aicabsolut

I'm having the same issue. I think my ITB has also gone to **** on the same leg. Lateral leg pain in this leg isn't new to me because I've got some issues at the pelvis. I hadn't strained the hamstring (biceps femoris tendon) before that I can recall. Did a horribly difficult RR that had about a 1km or so steep climb with gravel for 4 laps. It was a tough race, and with my field being mixed with men, I spent a lot of it solo. My legs were sore but ok until I spent 4 hrs pressing on the accelerator with terrain and traffic making cruise control a luxury I couldn't often use. My leg buckled upon exiting the car at home. Hasn't been the same since.

Massage has been helping, but I can't get worked on too close to an important ride or race, because my legs are just dead for a day or two after. It feels like my therapist is lighting my leg on fire when she works on the tendons and the belly of the hamstring. I was doing ok off the bike for a couple of weeks, but not anymore. I have been fiddling with my cleat position a little and moved my saddle forward a couple mm. I also stand out of the saddle more than I used to in order to be able to bend the knee more comfortably. Although it hurts worse on the downstroke, I am not inclined to raise my saddle like someone suggested. The leg feels better when there is less reach (been sitting up towards the nose of the saddle to climb).

ridethecliche

I will come back to this sport when my back and knee are healed.

And my wallet I suppose, but that's another story. Probably won't be able to afford racing for the next while, especially if no one listens to my sig

gsteinb

my injury is bigger than your injury

El Diablo Rojo

You have the equivalent of "I just won the Tour" injuy(s).

spinwax

I feel your pain...literally. Going on 5 months without hard riding/racing or anything. Weight gain, loss of fitness, depression, you name it. I have been dealing with patellar tendinitis. It is not fun. Mine was not a bike fit issue, but a too hard too early/overuse problem.

Stretch
Ice
Anti
Massage
Eccentric exercise
Rest

This is my routine, and still struggling with it. I truely hope I can race next season.

Good luck with everything.