Hamstring pain and strain

Either a sudden grab in the back of the thigh at speed, or a slow-building ache right under the sit bone that hurts most when sitting. The two behave very differently and need to be told apart.

Léelo primero: Esto es información general sobre entrenamiento, no consejo médico, y nada de lo que aparece aquí es un diagnóstico. Un mismo dolor puede tener causas muy distintas, y solo un profesional cualificado que pueda valorarte en persona sabe cuál es la tuya. Si el dolor es intenso, va a más o no remite, acude a un profesional.

También llamado: Hamstring tear, High hamstring tendinopathy

Cómo suele manifestarse

• The acute version: a sharp grab mid-sprint that makes you pull up immediately.
• The gradual version: a deep ache under the sit bone, worst sitting on hard surfaces and driving.
• Tender to press, sometimes with bruising in the acute version over the following days.
• Sore stretching forward into a hinge or picking something off the floor.

Qué suele provocarlo

• Sprinting and accelerations without having trained at those speeds.
• Heavy deadlift volume plus running volume climbing in the same block.
• Racing at a pace the hamstring has never been exposed to in training.
• A previous strain that was returned from too early: the biggest single risk factor for the next one.

Se dispara normalmente con

• Sprints, accelerations and race-pace running.
• Deadlifts and heavy hinging, particularly at the bottom.
• Sled pull in a deep hinged position.
• Sitting for long periods, in the high-hamstring version.

Qué suele seguir disponible

• All upper-body training.
• Squatting, usually well tolerated when hinging is not.
• The bike and rower, once it is pain-free to do so.
• Loaded hamstring work in a shortened range early, progressing to longer range as it settles.

Sustituciones de entrenamiento

• En lugar de Sprint intervals: Bike or rowing intervals at the same effort
• En lugar de Conventional deadlifts: Trap-bar deadlifts or a shorter range from blocks
• En lugar de Sled pull: Seated rows in an upright position
• En lugar de Long stride running: Short easy running that stays pain-free, built up progressively

Qué se suele reconstruir

• Hamstring strength at long muscle length: Nordic curls and Romanian deadlifts are the usual backbone.
• A structured return to sprinting, since strength alone does not protect against speed.
• The high-hamstring version handled differently: less stretching, more progressive loading.
• Weeks longer than feels necessary: early return is what makes this the most recurrent injury in running sport.

Cuándo parar y acudir a un profesional

• You heard a pop and cannot walk properly, or there is a visible gap or large bruise.
• Numbness or pins and needles down the leg. This may be nerve-related, not muscular.
• Pain in the buttock at rest with no clear training cause.
• Repeated re-strains at the same point in every return.

Sweatlas no es un proveedor sanitario. Todo el contenido del índice de molestias es información general sobre entrenamiento, escrita para personas adultas y sanas, y no constituye consejo médico, diagnóstico ni tratamiento. No lo uses para autodiagnosticarte ni para retrasar una consulta. Si tienes dolor intenso, que empeora o que no remite, o cualquiera de las señales de alarma que aparecen en la página, acude a un médico o a un fisioterapeuta cualificado.