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Grr.
Went to the appointment with the physical therapy people today. Basically, they said that yes, I seem to have a very spot-specific point in the "belly" of the hamstring in my upper thigh that has some scar tissue and keeps a) reinjuring itself and b) severely hampering my flexibility in my right leg. They did not tell me I had to stop doing martial arts for a while. This is good, as I pretty much would have said, "Thpppbbbbttt!" They did say that I have to go a whole lot easier on that leg, and that I'm forbidden from doing any sort of active stretching of that muscle except for certain very gentle stretches (nerve stretches? WTF?) and (surprisingly effective) strength-building exercises. Yes, they gave me some lengths of tubing and some copies of stretch instructions. Also an ultrasound of the injured area, which is apparently standard practice for muscle injury as it helps break down scar tissue and heat+vibration promotes blood circulation and healing. It felt pretty good, too. I've got another appointment next week. Sounds like this is going to be a regular thing for a while, which is Grr. Yay for good insurance, boo for copay.
Also, my flexibility rather baffled the person trying to figure out what stretches would work best for me, despite the noticeable decrease in said flexibility in my right leg.
So now I have to a) take it easy on that leg, and b) ramp up my training for black belt test. I don't think these are entirely mutually exclusive, but I could be wrong. We will see. I also got the feeling that the doctor's idea of "taking it easy" is a lot...well...easier than mine is.
To sum up:
* basic stretches/exercises with my new stretchy toys
* no splits, no runner's stretches, etc. Verboten.
* journal all my physical activity, with pain levels before/after, and never bump up more than "one pain level that goes right back down within a day"
* No high kicks on my left side, no axe kicks, and I'm kinda worried about right-side cartwheels
* ice is my friend
I would have preferred a more definitive, Point A -> Point B in X time solution.
A lot.
Went to the appointment with the physical therapy people today. Basically, they said that yes, I seem to have a very spot-specific point in the "belly" of the hamstring in my upper thigh that has some scar tissue and keeps a) reinjuring itself and b) severely hampering my flexibility in my right leg. They did not tell me I had to stop doing martial arts for a while. This is good, as I pretty much would have said, "Thpppbbbbttt!" They did say that I have to go a whole lot easier on that leg, and that I'm forbidden from doing any sort of active stretching of that muscle except for certain very gentle stretches (nerve stretches? WTF?) and (surprisingly effective) strength-building exercises. Yes, they gave me some lengths of tubing and some copies of stretch instructions. Also an ultrasound of the injured area, which is apparently standard practice for muscle injury as it helps break down scar tissue and heat+vibration promotes blood circulation and healing. It felt pretty good, too. I've got another appointment next week. Sounds like this is going to be a regular thing for a while, which is Grr. Yay for good insurance, boo for copay.
Also, my flexibility rather baffled the person trying to figure out what stretches would work best for me, despite the noticeable decrease in said flexibility in my right leg.
So now I have to a) take it easy on that leg, and b) ramp up my training for black belt test. I don't think these are entirely mutually exclusive, but I could be wrong. We will see. I also got the feeling that the doctor's idea of "taking it easy" is a lot...well...easier than mine is.
To sum up:
* basic stretches/exercises with my new stretchy toys
* no splits, no runner's stretches, etc. Verboten.
* journal all my physical activity, with pain levels before/after, and never bump up more than "one pain level that goes right back down within a day"
* No high kicks on my left side, no axe kicks, and I'm kinda worried about right-side cartwheels
* ice is my friend
I would have preferred a more definitive, Point A -> Point B in X time solution.
A lot.