Hello doctors!
Sorry for the long post, but I’ll try to be as thorough as possible.
3 months ago I’ve started treating my hypothyroidism and seen some rapid performance increase in the gym. Though since I still haven’t landed on my optimal TSH yet my performance has been fluctuating more than usual.
I’ve been running Strength III week 6, and on day 2 while doing back-off deadlifts 375lbs 5x5 @76%, on fourth set when I put down my first repetition of the deadlift - I felt a pop in my hamstring. I have probably gotten careless since this is a relatively light weight that I am familiar with, and 5x5 was taking awhile, so I probably wasn’t setting my hips down on all the reps, making it SLDL on some of the reps. And I was trying to go through them fast because I’m not a fan of this phase of the program…
Anyway since I’m familiar with BBM injury protocol that Austin Baraki explained in his video, and since this isn’t my first rodeo - I ensured that I am ok, my hamstring didn’t rip out of the hip, and I can move and function freely. I had issues getting in the deadlift position, but after some rest I could work up from 135 lbs to 315 lbs with some pain and discomfort. However 335 lbs shot up sharp pain through my hamstring so I didn’t attempt to lift it all the way up.
I did bench and a light squat after that, bought myself 10 pills of 400mg ibuprofen and later realized that they probably won’t do anything for me after listening to BBM podcast number 99. I’m still taking 1 pill per day, since I already have them.
Later I went to bed and I woke up from several gentle pops in my hamstring followed by a feeling of relief. Almost as if some muscle fibers got jammed in the rest of the muscle and got released when the hamstring relaxed during the sleep. Not sure if it’s anatomically possible, but I had similar sensation when I had lower back injury a couple of years back.
The leg started feeling significantly better after a day off, then I did Day 3 training session where I felt slight discomfort in my hamstring on paused squats but it didn’t really affect performance in a significant way.
Now on day 4 (today) I’ve had 1@8 paused deadlifts with some back offs. My hamstring felt much better than the day before, so I figured if I followed RPE then it should be fine. Or if I felt any sudden pain then I’d try other variations that don’t cause it - maybe switch to sumo, or do block pulls. Did all the warm ups, worked up to 315lbs with some discomfort, but felt pretty confident that I could hit 405lbs paused like the week before. However sudden sharp pain ran through the hamstring on 365 lbs right after a pause. Couldn’t lift anything above 225lbs after that, and noticed a small bruise under where it hurts. Here’s a pic, the bruise is a bit darker IRL and it doesn’t hurt much, the main source of the pain is about 10-15cm above the bruise.
The pain in the hamstring is back to square 1, but I’m way more mobile than when it originally popped.
I’m very lucky that my next training week doesn’t go above RPE 8, and competition lifts have 10 reps with 5-3-0 back offs. It should be good for rehab.
But I wanted to ask what do I do after that? Will this 1 week be enough to heal up my micro tear or whatever it is to 100%?
I was planning to peak in 6 weeks. Do I go on with Strength III program or switch to free Bridge version? Or maybe finish the program but don’t do PR tests?
Should I switch to sumo if it hurts less, or try working with what I have on conventional?
Or stop deadlifting and do Nordic hamstring curls like you recommend in your hip injury articles? If so how long should I abstain from deadlifting?
I’m at a loss, because up until now I’ve been very good at reading my body and working through injuries, but whatever happened to my hamstring is very difficult to understand right now.
Thank you!! <3
Edit: After a night of sleeping the bruise has gotten bigger. Imgur: The magic of the Internet
The leg works fine, I can walk without limping and pain. I experience some mild pain and discomfort when I try hinge at the hip/bend over. But my range of motion is as usual, I can pretty much do RDL and go down to below the knee exactly, at which point strong discomfort and some pain is limiting me going lower. But going below that always required me to overstretch the muscle even before the injury.
