I’ve had my fair share of injuries over the years, usually due to football or cricket.  From a few concussions to a bit of back pain, I speak from experience when I’m talking to clients about their aches and pains!  But there’s one injury that stands out – mainly due to how and where it happened…

As some of you would be aware, we like to have a bit of fun at Pakenham Osteopathy and when we’re not in the midst of a pandemic, we usually get together for the odd social event throughout the year.  I have a notorious record when it comes to our social events and our ‘Amazing Race’ inspired event last year was no exception. 

To cut a long story short, we split into two teams and each team was given a balloon we had to protect.  Not one to shy away from competition, I went after the other team’s balloon and successfully managed to pop it.  This enraged a few of the opposition, none more so than Tom and Hayley who decided to chase me through the streets of Melbourne.  They were unsuccessful until “TWANG” – the old hamstring decided to give out.  I still managed to hobble away and even attempted to run through Tom and Hayley at the finish line, but with no luck.  The balloon popped, my shirt was ripped and I was left feeling sore and sorry for myself for the next few hours.

I know what some of you might be thinking – I tore my hamstring yet still tried to run?!  Sometimes the advice that we give our clients is the hardest to take ourselves!

So what did I do about it?

Of course, I sought the expertise of our osteopaths.  Luckily, my hamstring tear wasn’t severe so it meant a relatively short recovery.  However, regardless of grading, muscle tears and strains require rehabilitation to ensure that the risk of recurring injury is kept low and the muscle returns to full strength. 

Manual treatment included soft tissue massage, manipulation, articulation and some dry needling over a period of 3-4 weeks.  The main rehabilitation exercises I focused on were standard and nordic hamstring curls, clams, glute raises and crab walks. 

I began running again after 3 weeks, starting with smaller runs and slowly building to longer runs.

We, as Osteopaths have all had our fair share of injuries and we know how confusing and frustrating recovery can be.  At Pakenham Osteopathy, we always try to explain the cause of your injury in laymen’s terms so that you are fully informed.  We also provide every new client with a management plan detailing what is going on, how long you can expect recovery to take, how many treatment you will require and what exercises or stretches will aid your recovery.  For exisiting clients, we ensure we take the time to listen so that we can work towards your goals together – which might be getting back to the training track, getting up and down off the floor to play with the kids, or to play a round of golf.  

The moral of my story – don’t keep running after you strain your hamstring and don’t let your competitiveness get the better of you!