Hamstring - chronic pain.

S

susan-lynn

Cathlete
I've been seeing a Physical Therapist regarding hamstring pain (right leg) that I've been having for 2 months now (very tight & irritated). She concluded that I have scar tissue (from what I'm not sure - I don't remember a particular incident that made it hurt) & possibly fluid in the ham - and suggested a stretching and massaging routine to try to break up the scar tissue. I've been faithfully doing my routine every day for 3 weeks - & it's still not getting better!
I get my DH to massage my ham - can't afford a massage therapist since the PT is draining my $$!

Has anyone suffered from this type of pain, and overcome it? I'd love to hear any success stories, since this is so discouraging to deal with every day.

ps - also have been experiencing mild lower back & SI joint pain on same side. The PT showed me some core exercises to strengthen my back (using a big exercise ball). I told her about the core exercises I do (CTX - back) and she said DO NOT do these core exercises on the floor anymore, but to use a ball to stabilize the back better. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks
Susan
 
I've posted a couple of times recently because of a recently-diagnosed herniated disk. My symptoms were very much like yours. It felt like a tight hamstring, and I kept stretching, doing yoga, etc. but nothing alleviated it. Medical professionals also said it was a hamstring injury which I had no recollection of! I had physical therapy on my leg which didn't help.

Finally, when the pain started to show up in my lower back as well (esp. when driving), a new doctor told me these are classic symptoms of a disk problem. Often you won't feel the pain in your back, as the nerve that's being compressed refers it further down your leg.

In my case the theory is that the disk was bulging for a couple of years and finally herniated. All the forward bending and hamstring stretching I was told to do was probably the worst thing for me!

Sorry for the long post, but I wish someone had suggested this possibility to me three years ago when I was experiencing "hamstring" pain that just wouldn't go away! Get this checked out! I sincerely hope that it isn't a disk problem in your case!
 
Hi Susan - I went through a similar things a few years back and could get no real diagnosis. I did some research on my own and learned about piriformis syndrome (essentially, the sciatic nerve is irritated). In truth, I believe that was what I had been suffering for those months. The injury is common among female runners, and at that time in my life, I was doing marathons. My symptoms were chronic pain in my left hamstring, which became unbearable when I was sitting. I have a desk job, so you can imagine. Anyway, I stopped running altogether, and time took care of it, in addition to strengthening my back/hips/legs and becoming more flexible in my hamstrings/hips. All that said, I agree with the other person who posted. It could be a disk. Don't mess around with it and get a second opinion. Good luck! Let us know what happens, Suzanne
 
Thanks for sharing your experiences Cheryl & Suzanne. I have complained every time I go to PT about my back too, and she keeps saying it's a bit stiff, and I'm having a slight muscle spasm, but she says it's nothing to worry about. Even the sports medicine doctor I saw was totally unconcerned. He ordered xrays for the SI joint and pelvic area which the PT says showed some findings, (what findings I don't know) - but again that it wasn't significant.

I've spent hours reading up on sciatica, hamstring, herniated discs, piriformis syndrome - thinking I am experiencing the same symptoms. But the doc & the PT both said it is definitely not a nerve problem or sciatica.

THe PT is pushing massage therapy big time. I'm going to keep hounding them about my back. Would an xray show any bulging of a disc? It is just so very frustrating!

Thanks again for your replies.
Susan
 
Hi, Susan, it's me again.

An x-ray will not show a bulging or herniated disk, although it may show some narrowing between disks; only an MRI will show the soft tissue. They are expensive, though.

I hope you find some relief soon!

Cheryl
 
Susan-Lynn,
I have found that doctors don't care as much about what is physically wrong with you as much as they do about what it is going to take to shut you up.

Especially where back pain is involved, I think the docs can guess at what it is, but often never find a reason, or don't think it is NECESSARY to find a reason. Its always.."Ok, so your back(or whatever) hurts. Ok, rest, ice, elevate, compress OR stretch, strengthen and walk. In a nutsell, this is all the valuable advice I ever got from a doctor, and, sadly, I already knew it all!!!

Of course, I am an otherwise healthy 26 year old and your problems may not be even close to mine, but there is always a strong chance they will not know what is wrong, but will want to charge you 250.00 a visit to supervise you when you stretch and strengthen. I say, let them run the diagnostics..but if they still don't find anything..run for your life and try to help yourself. If you stay in the medical run around, you will just get VERY frustrated. With the internet today, you can almost be your OWN doctor. Just something to think about. Especially with chronic pain of any kind, doc's always seem floundered!! Good Luck....janice
 
LOL - you made me laugh Janice - but everything you said is so TRUE. What bugs me is that they keep saying I'm too young to have back problems - I'M 31 YEARS OLD!!

Thanks for listening anyway - and believe me, I'm constantly surfing the net to try to be my own doc.

Susan
 
Susan:

Get an MRI. Don't mess with this. I ended up needing urgent back surgery because of workers' comp docs pretending I didn't have a real problem, and my own denial thinking it was just a hamstring. Take care of your back. The surgery took the pressure off my nerve, but I have big time chronic soreness, weakness, and still, six months out of surgery haven't recovered all the feeling in my left foot. My high impact days are few and far between, etc. You're not too young. I know a high school basketball player who needs surgery for this.

I'd lay off all core exercises till some one looks at an MRI. Ask the tech to show you if you don't trust your doc. They can't diagnose, but they can see, and you will be able too as well, if there's disk material protruding from between your vertebrae.
Please be careful. Sorry to sound so scary, but I wish someone had scared me a lot sooner! Good luck.

--Ann
 
I am posting this in more than one place, so if you see this more than once, please accept my apologies!

On Saturday I went to a massage therapist who specializes in "myofascial release." It was AMAZING! After I left I felt better than I had in months!

Nothing else made my "hamstring" pain feel better, and I'd tried so many things over the past three years(anti-inflammatories, chiropractic, electrical stimulation, ultrasound, massage, yoga). Most recently I've been in physical therapy for a herniated disk. Someone else hit the nail on the head when she said (paraphrasing here)that they label you and then look your label up in a book: "Back pain? Do these strengthening exercises." (Even if you're already strong and STILL have pain.)

One thing I know she did was work on my "psoas" (sp?) muscle, which is a very deep muscle in the torso. It felt very weird to have it manipulated, but I think it helped.

I don't feel 100% normal and I fear that after all my enthusiasm for this approach I will relapse, but this is the first real hope and improvement I've experienced.

If any of you try this, please let me know if it works for you!

Cheryl
 
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