Hi, I damaged my hamstring area when stretching in a splitz position. I though I heard a pop noise. That was almost 3 months ago and it is still painful in buttocks to sit (both sides) and pain at top where hamstring meets (?) Glut. I can walk without any pain.
Apologies, I have no medical background.
At 59 years of age I understand that healing is much slower, but am worried that it does appear to be improving. Is this something I need to see a doctor about or do I just sit it out and wait for the healing process to finish.
Thanks for the post and welcome to the forum, though I wish it were under different circumstances. This sounds like a frustrating experience, especially given the length of time since the initial injury. I’m not sure how familiar you are with our approach to injuries, but most of the time we prioritize movement over “sitting it out”. Of course, we also need to address the specific symptoms you are describing.
At 59, your recovery rate may differ from a 20-year-old depending on habitual activity levels and fitness, but your body is still remarkably adaptable and capable of healing. A “pop” sensation followed by pain where you’re describing may be something like a proximal hamstring strain, though “naming” it doesn’t really change what we’ll do about it.
The fact that you can walk without pain is an excellent sign. It means the area is currently able to tolerate low-level loading. However, the persistent pain when sitting suggests that the area has become sensitized. When you “sit it out” and wait for healing to finish, you often inadvertently allow the tissues to become more sensitive to pressure and stretching because they aren’t being gradually exposed to load.
I can’t comment on whether you personally should or shouldn’t see a doctor, as I’d need more information. That said, we generally suggest seeking a medical evaluation if you experience:
Significant muscle weakness (e.g., you cannot bend your knee against resistance).
Significant bruising or a visible “gap” in the muscle belly.
Numbness or tingling in the groin or down the leg.
If your only symptoms are pain while sitting or stretching, a good doctor would likely suggest physical therapy, though the quality of that varies (like many things).
Because this has persisted for three months without improvement, a consultation with our Pain and Rehab team is going to be the most efficient way to get a specific plan for getting back to your previous activity levels.
Outside of that, the goal is to find the “entry point” for loading the hamstrings and glutes in a way that is tolerable.
Modify the stress: If sitting is painful, use a cushion or change your sitting position frequently to reduce the constant pressure on the attachment point.
Alter training: If the injury happened during a split, your instinct might be to stretch more, but if the area is sensitized, aggressive stretching can actually make it worse.
You should lift. We recommend starting with low-intensity exercises that you can perform with minimal pain (e.g., a 0-3/10 on a 10-point scale). This might start with something as simple as a glute bridge or a very light leg curl.
For a more detailed look at how to manage these types of tweaks, we have the following material:
I’ve hurt my hamstring before, and I remember the pain around where it meets the glute taking a while to get better, especially after a stretching injury. Sitting was the most uncomfortable, and I was afraid of making it worse by moving too soon. What helped me was very gentle glute bridges and avoiding any deep stretching, plus shifting around a lot if I had to sit for long. It did take a couple of months, but things slowly improved when I was careful not to push it.
Update. It is now 9 months since the injury and it is still very painful to sit for extended periods, particularly long drives. I am seeing a physiotherapist every month and have a program of exercises:
Glute bridge, Hamstring curl, Clamshell with band, adduction with band and staggered sit-to-stand.
Age has made this slower. I do change cushions alot when sitting for long periods
Sorry to hear that you’re still not feeling your best, especially at 9 months in. I don’t think age is your main problem. It’s a factor, but a smaller one than it feels like. The bigger issue is almost certainly that the loading you’ve been doing does not match what you need.
What you’re describing, pain right where the hamstring meets the sit bone, worst with long sitting and long drives, is consistent with proximal hamstring tendinopathy. It’s slow, and it hates compression, which is exactly why sitting and driving are the worst of it. So the cushion-swapping is sensible, and like I said back in March, aggressive stretching tends to make it worse. .
Here’s the part I’d change. Glute bridges, clamshells, band adduction, and light curls are a reasonable starting point, but 9 months in you should be well past them. Tendons remodel in response to load that challenges them and keeps climbing week over week. If that program has looked roughly the same the whole time, that’s very likely why you’ve plateaued. Then, the load has to climb from there, and that climb is the step that’s missing. What this responds to is heavier, progressive hamstring loading, think loaded hip extensions and Romanian deadlifts with weight that goes up over time, often with some isometric holds early to settle the pain.
Given that it’s been 9 months on a program that hasn’t gotten you there, let our Pain and Rehab team build and progress the plan for you. That’s the exact situation it’s built for, and it would likely save you a lot more months of guessing.
Either way, my feeling is that a situation like this is a loading problem, and loading problems are fixable.