How long for a hamstring injury to heal?

no answer, but some sympathy from the great white north ((eva))

OUCH!

Have you been icing it? They heal much more quickly if you ice it every hour or so to keep the swelling down, at least for the first couple days.

Sounds brutal. Glad it wasn't worse.

Every hour or so? Really?

Now that I'm home for the evening, I can do that. <limps to get ice>

Yeah, some recommendations are 20 mins on, 20 off for the first day.

We have a large bag of frozen peas and corn that's been used for icing injuries for ages. It's pliable and not as uncomfortable to rest your leg on as ice.

Feel Better Soon!

Sorry, I don't have the answers you're after, Eva.

Just want to say I'm sorry you're going through this. Sounds awfully painful!

I'm not sure if anyone's asked, but are you intending to see a doctor about this?

I've hated the ice thing, finding it hard to do twenty minutes at a time. But the frozen pea routine has been more tolerable..

Sending cushy pillows and get well soons to Eva..

Depending on the injury, it could take awhile. If it doesn't feel better after a few days, you will probably have to work on flexibility, but don't start too soon.

Where is the pain ? At the top or the knee ? Or the muscle itself ?

How long is a piece of string?

Hamstrings take longer!

Patience needed there, Eva!

20 min. on/off...??? These recommendations are obviously not meant for a mother on the day before Thanksgiving! That is, unless someone knows how to hold a bag of ice on the back of one's leg while cooking!

<where's that duct tape?>

No doctor at this point. All they can do is suggest ice and rest.

I just happened to have a massage appointment two hours after this happened, and I managed to make it there. The masseuse iced it and put sports tape on it for support, which helped a little. She said that if, in a couple of days, a large bruise appears, I may have torn it. But probably not, from what she can tell. She is a runner and works on lots of athletes, so I trust her judgment.

Hurts all the way down the back of the thigh, from top to bottom. Worst at the top, but the pain radiates down the whole leg when I try to extend it.

Sorry Eva, but you need a doctor to physically examine the leg. There is more that can go wrong there than just a torn hammy. It could be the muscle is badly stretched, or one or more of the tendons at either end (though it seems more likely the top from what you have said) can be partially or fully torn. You can also have deep internal bruising which is very serious or have stretched major blood vessels..it all depends on your age and exercise condition.

Off to a doctor with you Eva.

I'm inclined to agree, and I'm not the one to send people to a doctor, as a general rule. Keep up with the ice till you can get an appointment.

classic hamstring pain can also be back related.
4-6 weeks out for an aussie rules footballer, so i guess around a week of pain and inconvenience.

More, then. I bet those guys play with injuries most of us would consider crippling.

Iced it down really good before I went to sleep. Still hurts, but definitely more manageable today. I was reading up on "WebMD," and apparently this is a 1st or almost a 2nd degree sprain. I really don't see the need to go to the emergency room (doctors' offices closed for the holiday now) for a pulled muscle. Unless it gets worse, of course.

A week, then, dadpad? No problem. I can manage that.

If you had of been an athlete and was running I could quite easily go with a pulled hammy. But you fell and we dont know your age. I know of one soldier who died from a corked leg muscle and you couldnt see any abnormality on the outside. On an unrelated matter, you can bleed to death into the upper leg and not leave much of an outside indicator until it is too late.

I didnt want to suggest any particular type of injury over the internet, but your symptoms are more in line with pressure on a nerve, either bleeding in the muscle at the top of the leg or possibly where the nerve leaves the spine.

You are naughty and should go to a doctors surgery as soon as you can. If you are feeling much better by then and dont wish to go, fine, but monitor it for future possible complications.

If it is a torn muscle, about 2 weeks. If it is a tendon tear, maybe 6 weeks. If you have put pressure on a nerve, it will probably re-affect you at a later date. All assuming it is not something worse. As for ice, increasingly they find more and more injuries that ice helps, and it never hurts if done correctly.

Oh Eva... no no no... so sorry you are in pain girl - hope you are able to enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday - get those fellas to do the to-ing and fro-ing.

Hugs gal xxxxx