From the SAYSO Trainer’s Notebook
While you can tear any muscle tissue during exercise, the most common pulls are to the hamstring, calf, and groin muscles. Most muscle pulls are caused by weakness, fatigue, inflexibility, or a hasty and improper warm-up. Rainy day muscle pulls are common because athletes don’t want to stretch in the rain, and they cut short their warm-ups.
The hamstrings, the muscles in the back of your thighs, go through a wide range of motion during running and are under great stress as they stretch out quickly in a long stride. When the hams pull, you may feel a painful pop and involuntarily grab the back of your thigh, which later can turn black and blue. You also may feel a gap in the muscle where the tear occurred.
RICE, anti-inflammatories, and gentle stretches are the best ways to treat muscle pulls. Use the figure 4” stretch: Sit with one leg extended and the opposite foot tucked inside on your outstretched thigh. Lean forward and reach as far as possible without feeling pain. Hold for 20 seconds. Repeat with the opposite leg extended.
As the injury is healing, start a preventive program of gentle stretching and strengthening the muscle. Take time to warm up and cool down.