hamstring crack

[karatekid]

I was stretching after a leg workout, I did side splits, then I was working on front splits(I always had a problem with them, but can do them after a GOOD warm up, also I havent been stretching a week or 2) and I got forcefuly lower and heard a crack in my hamstring, I can walk normaly, but It kills my tricking, It hurts when I kick high and it limits me in doing a LOT of things in tricking.. my questions are: has this happend to you? what should I do? Rest it or treat it somehow??

[shengoikee]

you may of torn your hamstring. STOP TRICKING AND REST.

a similar thing happened to me back in my days of crappy formal MA lessons and it took at least 6 months to return to "normal". hopefully yours wont be as bad but make sure you rest!

take care

[yaiba]

That's like exactly what happened to me in last february. I also had good warm up after hapkido class and decided to stretch. I lowered into frontsplits and after a while in same position I heard a loud pop from somewhere behind my knee and I lost all sense in the foot for a while. I wasn't able to lift my leg higher than my knee for couple of days and I made the mistake that I continued to trick and do other exercises without recovering proberly. It scarred my hamstring muscle and I have problems even nowadays with my frontsplits with right leg in the front. I can do them but it was a real pain in the ass when I had to stretch twice as hard than normally to get the splits back after finally recovering.

Just like shengoikee said, rest it! Don't make the same mistake as I did.

[Yuri]

check the skin, if it is not bruised you probably did not tear your hamstring.

a more likely situation is that a tendon popped out of place, and this is what limits your motion. the best way to treat this is heat therapy and light stretching to coax that tendon back to its proper place in your leg. go to the sauna or take lots of hot baths, this will loosen everything up and help you out
and resting is a good idea regardless, take it easy on that leg for some time. if it is a tendon misplacement, you wont be set back for that long

in october i was drunk at a party and did the front split and heard a crack. when i woke up the next morning my leg was in great pain and had no range of motion. this scared the shit out of me(i thought i tore my hamstring) but i talked to my friend who is a dance major and he suggested this solution. it set my tricking back bit but it was my fault for being a fool and it could have been much worse

[karatekid]

hey thanks guys:).. I will do as you say

[Alexx]

something really similar happened to me recently, i had warmed up and was stretching front splits, on my not so good side, felt a little uncomfy, but held it, then i hear this crack in the area like right in my groin and leg (like the top area of red in this) and i drop about 3 inches, so i jumped up straight away, scared i'd really hurt myself, and started using it, and realised it killed, so i just have to stretch it a lot more nowadays. Any advice for a full recovery guys ?

[Papa Lazarou]

I suggest you (both) get some sort of professional advice. It doesn't seem worth the risk that you treat it the wrong way. If you see a specialist, they'll tell you what's best to fix it and you'll get the best possible recovery. Otherwise it could become a permanent problem.

[karatekid]

thanks all 4 youre advice.. I rested it for 2 weeks and it doesn't hurt anymore, I can trick normalny also.. YAY:)

[Yuri]

two weeks is pretty good, mine took a lot longer, but i also did not rest it as much as i should have

alexx, keep using heat until it pops back in to place

this was a good lesson for me in not forcing stretching

[kristo]

If ANYTHING like htis ever happens, the best thing is to rest for at least a week, avoiding the area altogether, and then starting exercises that isolate the area.

RICE helps too. Directly after it happens it helps to take a bit of ibuprofen to prevent swelling and such.

I've had plenty of injuries I haven't paid attention, and while it pains me everytime it DOES happen, I've learned to take it easy for the fastest recovery. Dynamic stretching (including tricking) should be the last on your mind. Only very mild exercises should be done soon after the injury, slowly working back to where you were. In all likely hood, after a couple days of "100%" (or close), you'll come back better than you ever have before.

But first, REST!