If you have been following along on
social media, you will know that I, Gary, recently sustained an injury to my left leg. Specifically, I ruptured my hamstrings, avulsing the common hamstring tendon off of the ischial tuberosity. What this means is
that the attachment point of my hamstring muscles was effectively ripped off the bone, necessitating surgical reattachment.
Thankfully, I had surgery within just two weeks, which is a pretty quick turnaround for a sports injury, and tends to lead the best outcomes. The surgery went well, and my surgeon was happy with the job he did. I will be happy too, provided it stays attached!
Since surgery, I obviously have a bit of pain, and I will be in a knee brace for the next 6 weeks, severely restricting my normal activities of daily living. For the first 2 weeks, my knee is fixed at 90 degrees, which is quite awkward, as you can imagine. But, overall, I am in pretty good shape and happy to be on the mend.
As I get stuck into my rehab (after the brace comes off), I will be documenting that process for your benefit. I have worked with many clients to help them during their post-operative rehab, and one of the things we really try to ensure is that we bring all core components of fitness back [close] to baseline prior to full return to sport.
For example, after ACL reconstruction, we know that many athletes return to sport with significant quadriceps strength deficits, which then increases risk of re-injury. In my case, I could be fooled into thinking I should return to sport once I am pain-free with full range of movement, but if my hamstring strength is 60% what it was previously, do you
think I might be at increased risk of re-rupture? Yes. For sure.
So, stay tuned for plenty of rehab content in the next few months. If you're looking for ways to build strong hamstrings, make sure to follow along, even if you haven't been injured.
