Question:Two weeks ago while training for the Falmouth Road Race I pulled my hamstring.
I figure running Falmouth next Sunday is out. But does anybody have any
suggestions on how to take care of it?
Answer:
It's unusual for a distance runner to pull a hamstring, but I
suppose anything's possible.
My best suggestion is to give it at least 3 weeks before you give
it a hard workout. Stretching is the best excercise in the short
term. It does work the muscles and can help in other ways.
Also, go to a good book store and get some books on runners and
injuries. I was able to figure out I had excercise induced athsma
and chondromalacia of the patella (runner's knee) by reading the
books. Funny thing was that I knew more about these problems than
some doctors. A sport's doctor is the best doctor to see, since
he/she is likely to be an athlete and far more sympathetic to your
ailments. The doctors I ran into who didn't agree with my self
diagnosis were not exercise specialists and were in the old school
of "If it hurts, don't do it".
The second doctor I saw about my knee not only confirmed my self
diagnosis, but he recommended I do what worked in the past anyway;
take it easy and work up to it. He also made detailed measurements
and made sure I saw a podiatrist. It seems I was born with one hip
out of alignment, therefore causing a chain of errors leading to
excessive lateral forces on my knee. Easily treatable.
As for my athsma, I saw a younger pulmonary speacialist.
Eventually, no one in his entire department believed me. They gave
me every challenge they had, but I passed them. The treadmill test
was about 20 minutes at a 7 minute pace. The room was warm and
humid. I told them it wasn't good enough. It would have to be
faster, colder, and drier. Exercise induced athsma is well known
for being aggrivated by cold and/or dry air, and is usually brought
about by irritation of the lungs. Running at or near your
individual maximum speed will do it.
Eventually, this doctor told me that I wasn't a world class runner,
I shouldn't try to be. What he didn't understand was that even the
last place finisher, if trying to run his/her fastest race
possible, is putting out the same cardiovascular effort as the
winners, only that he/she doesn't possess the speed or endurance to
be there (,yet). The lungs are just as likely to be irritated as
Keith Brantley's, Jim Ryan's, or Jackie Joyner-Kersee's. I even
saw a special on Nova that said that the current pulmonary
specialists needed more training to detect borderline cases of
athsma, like mine.
I found a different doctor and he didn't waste any time with tests.
Based solely on my testimony, he confirmed that I did indeed have
athsma.
Read a good book on fitness and health, but don't get caught up in
thinking you have everything in there, either. You will save money
in the long run, but don't be afraid to see the specialist when you
need to.
