Hanging by a thread

When you see “near full-thickness tear” on MRI results that means your muscle is almost hanging by a thread.

When your daily routine is disrupted, how do you respond?

Unplanned circumstances seem to pop up at the strangest of times. Most people I know will find ways to adapt and go with the flow eventually.

On January 30th while sprinting with my then 100 pound 9 month old puppy something unexpected happened. Unbeknownst to me our game of sprinting changed to tackle-your-opponent, except I wasn’t informed.

Mid-sprint I was pretty much taken out at the legs/ran into and flew head over puppy. Mid air I felt something close to an explosion in the origin of my left hamstring. Ten days later via MRI I was informed it was almost completely torn off of the bone.

At the time of writing this I am eight and a half weeks post injury, two weeks post minor surgical treatment and

I am on strict orders to lay off of it.

For five days after the procedure I had strict no weight bearing orders.

No weightbearing means don’t put weight on the affected leg. Now I am doing the bare minimum so it can heal.

My training used to consist of three to four days per week of Olympic lifting, sometimes swimming added in, a beach run now with the new pup, and hike on weekends.

Since Jan 30 I have been restricted to walking only.

Does an injury like this heal on its own? Not really

I elected for a procedure that could result in the regrowth of the hamstring tendon. Typically an injury of this magnitude may sometimes require surgical intervention, however mine did not.

I am fortunate to have a network of highly skilled medical professionals that offer alternative therapeutic options. I am diligently listening to doctors orders so that my hamstring tendon will heal and I can get back to activity.

My pace of life has definitely changed.

Changes can occur daily, sometimes rapidly, sometimes very slowly. Big changes affect our lives immediately, and drastically. Small changes may take a while to notice their impact on our lives.

What is constant is how we choose to respond: are we taking care of our bodies and not ignoring the little or big things?

It can be (is) challenging to change well engrained habits. Habits are known, comfortable patterns that we put in place because at one point in our lives these patterns helped us. We participate in them without having to think too hard about them.

Chronic injuries or pain can be the result of a habit that is no longer serving us.

Ongoing pains, muscle strains, tendonopathies, recurring back pain, may have roots in a habitual movement patterns, nutritional, and/or exercise regimens that we have been repeating over and over without change for a long time period.

Understanding movement patterns, intentional awareness, and the willingness to change movement habits are the first steps towards alleviating pain.

Then there are our daily life patterns. Habitual things we do, behaviours, patterned responses, work, what time we make our coffee, wake up, go to bed etc. Some patterns can increase our stress levels.

Repeated stress can increase fascia tension just like repeated movements can increase muscle pain.

Are we willing to look at injury as an experience to learn more about ourselves?

We can either choose to pay attention or ignore what our amazing intricate bodies are telling us.

Changes to fascia tissue have been linked to increases in pain perception.

I’m also treating my tissue differently during this stage of healing to accommodate the changes in fascia that can or may occur as a result of my blood chemistry changes.

When I first received result for this injury, first I cried. The reason was because I wanted to wear the new perfectly matching heels that I had just bought for my wedding day.

My next thought was: “now I get to experience how to rehab an almost complete hamstring tear”

As an active individual it was my choice to respond to this hamstring injury by reducing my activity, accepting the circumstance, consulting with a professional, and taking a path that I believe will result in improved movement health outcomes compared to where I am currently at.

My other choice was not to listen.

I thought it would be neat to share with you some exercises that I am doing along my rehab journey.

Respectfully,

Tiana