How I Cured My Hamstring Injury
Okay, the hamstring isn’t completely cured. But positive thinking is part of the treatment, so that’s my headline and I’m sticking to it. Plus, I do believe I’m on the path towards full recovery with this most common of soccer injuries—a result of the constant changes in speed and direction that players engage in throughout the match. One study found that an estimated 40 percent of injuries in England’s Premier League are hamstring-related.
I’d been nursing a strained hamstring for about 8 months when the Second Half kicked off, back in July. The injury had me playing at maximum intensity level of around 70 percent. On a good day, I’m now at 90 percent. Here’s the five-point plan I’ve used to get there:
Weight management. This of course is a main component of my total fitness regiment, but the hamstring has been a major beneficiary. As coach Hoog put it, “when you lose all that extra weight, your hamstrings aren’t going to have to work as hard.” Makes sense, and I’m already feeling the effects. Another benefit to weight loss: as my body fat has decreased, my hamstrings are becoming proportionally leaner and more compact. That's improving the overall flexibility of the muscle group and its communication with my knees and hips.
Yoga. I’ve never been much a stretcher, let alone a yoga goer. Foolish pride on both counts. Since joining Kahlila Kramer’s all-male “broga” class a couple months back, the workouts have brought my whole body into better alignment, while stretching the hamstrings specifically and getting them to work with my back and hips. As yoga goes, the class if pretty gentle, so I won’t run the risk of opening the hamstrings up too much—a concern for soccer players, who need the connection between the hamstring and surrounding tendons to remain firm.
Foam rolling. Kahlila’s private classes often include a foam roller. Its positive impact has been enough for me to purchase a roller of my own (the OPTP PRO-ROLLER Standard), which I now try to use every day, especially before and after intense training sessions. A kind of self-massage, foam rolling helps release and lengthen the fascia that covers the muscles. In my case, the fascia around the hamstring has become restricted, causing pain and tightness. A few minutes a day of intensive rolling has really helped to break it up.
Acupuncture. It was also Kahlila who put me on to acupuncture and I’m glad I followed her advice. I’m trying to go once a week to Brooklyn Open Acupunture, a communal clinic in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighborhood. The open setting lets acupuncturists treat multiple people at once, which keeps costs in check (current rate per treatment is $20 to $50).
Acupuncture stimulates the body’s internal resources, including natural anti-inflammatories and pain-killers. As the acupuncturist explained during my initial consultation, my injury has resulted in a lot of restriction between the hamstring and surrounding fascia. The strategic placement of needles in my foot, leg, hip, buttock, and neck is reactivating those pathways.
Awareness. There’s a reason so many hamstring injuries happen at the end of soccer matches: fatigued players use shorter strides, which puts added pressure on the hamstring muscles. Though it goes against the Second Half ethos, I’m forcing myself to ease up in the later stages of my games, or anytime I feel my legs getting heavy.
There you have it: my five-point plan for full hamstring recovery. Along with the power of positive thinking, I’m certain it will have me back to full strength in no time. Keeping up the routine should help prevent the injury from sidelining me again in the future.