Pulled Hamstring

[wade]

Say you have a player in a very important tournament. This is their only shot at this title. It's a USAT full contact Taekwondo tournament so not kicking to win is not an option. The pull their right ham string badly. You have a one minute injury time out.......The question is, what would you do so the player could finish that last round? Remember, not kicking is not an option. The clock is ticking............so..............what would you do?

 

[tshadowchaser]

With no age being given I'll give two answeres
1 if it is a minor he withdraws
2 if an adult and he/she wishes to continue and you only have one minute then you had better be real good at tapeing or in the use of a ace bandage

 

[Shaderon]

With an adult I would advise them to stop, but if they insisted to continue I'd warn them I was against it but would support them and bandage it up to the best of my abilities.

If it was a child I'd pull them out no question.

Saying that, if the person was me that had been injured, I'd refuse to pull out and take the bandage and good luck wishes and favour my good leg for kicking. I never back down.

 

[wade]

Thanks, it was an adult male BB, 44 years old who was unwilling to forfeit the match.

 

[Shaderon]

Thanks, it was an adult male BB, 44 years old who was unwilling to forfeit the match.

What did you do Wade?

 

[zDom]

It's just a game. IMO, no game is worth making an injury worse.

But that's just my opinion. :shrug:

 

[charyuop]

It's just a game. IMO, no game is worth making an injury worse.

But that's just my opinion. :shrug:

I agree 100%. If it is a fight for your life ok, no choice there. But a tournment is not worth risking a bigger injury, which might keep you out months. Moreover if you reach the last round it means that the match is well balanced and going back with 1 leg useless means losing the match anyway.

 

[wade]

Shaderon, I wrapped it real tight with a 6" wide ace bandage and went back in again.

 

[Shotochem]

So fill us in, how did he do???

 

[Laurentkd]

A pulled hamstring is doubtfully going to end up being a real serious injury. If you didn't tear it the first time, your body isn't likely to allow you to use it enough to tear it after an injury. It might take you out of training for 3 to 6 weeks, but if this is a tournament you have really been preparing for and your are a big tournament fighter and really want to do well at, it might be worth it (this is an exercise science degree with a real competitive edge talking- so take it for what it's worth ). Assuming of course the fighter is an adult, if it is a kid it is up the parents, but I would let my fighter go for it.
In that one minute I would use tiger balm and then ace bandage it or tape it. I would also tell my fighter to USE that leg to kick. Most people find that kicking actually pulls the hamstring on the base leg a lot more than the kicking leg (at least on roundhouse, side kick, even axe and spin hook).

So what happened Wade?

 

[Yeti]

A pulled hamstring is doubtfully going to end up being a real serious injury. If you didn't tear it the first time, your body isn't likely to allow you to use it enough to tear it after an injury. It might take you out of training for 3 to 6 weeks, but if this is a tournament you have really been preparing for and your are a big tournament fighter and really want to do well at, it might be worth it (this is an exercise science degree with a real competitive edge talking- so take it for what it's worth ).

I have to disagree. There is no difference "medically" between a pull and a tear...they only describe different degrees of injury. What you would call a pulled hamstring is still a tear, albeit a partial one. Symantics, but still.

I hurt my right hamstring in November of 2005 while trying to kick too high for my own good. Didn't think much of it other than I was REALLY sore. Though I took it easy for the next few days, a week or so later I bent down to pick up my car keys and POP, tore it (partial tear thank God). Your body will allow you to use an injured muscle enough to tear it after an injury. That tear kept me out of training for 4 or 5 MONTHS...not weeks - so yes, I think it can be a significant injury. A year and a half later, I STILL feel it and have re-injured it on more than one occasion. I've even had physical therapy on it - complete with ultrasound treatment - and I still feel it. Definitely not fun.

All that aside, not knowing then what I do now, I most probably would have gone back in too. Adrenaline dulls the pain enough to keep you going in the short term (been there too...broke a rib during a sparring match and kept going for the next round...after the match I had to cut my hogu off b/c it hurt too much to lift it over my head LOL!)

 

[jdinca]

A pulled hamstring is doubtfully going to end up being a real serious injury. If you didn't tear it the first time, your body isn't likely to allow you to use it enough to tear it after an injury. It might take you out of training for 3 to 6 weeks, but if this is a tournament you have really been preparing for and your are a big tournament fighter and really want to do well at, it might be worth it (this is an exercise science degree with a real competitive edge talking- so take it for what it's worth ). Assuming of course the fighter is an adult, if it is a kid it is up the parents, but I would let my fighter go for it.
In that one minute I would use tiger balm and then ace bandage it or tape it. I would also tell my fighter to USE that leg to kick. Most people find that kicking actually pulls the hamstring on the base leg a lot more than the kicking leg (at least on roundhouse, side kick, even axe and spin hook).

So what happened Wade?

I'm going to have to disagree here, also. I've seen people with a minor pull try to "man up" and end up with a 2 month injury, as opposed to a 2 week injury.

 

[zDom]

Some advice on rehabilitating a pull/tear:

(I believe I got this information from one of my coaching classes back in college...)

try isotonics: tensing the muscle area that was injured. (Tense and hold for 30 seconds, relax. Repeat 3 or 4 times; do a couple times every day.)

I was told this promoted "crosshatching" in the muscle fibers (in addition to bringing blood flow to the area) which reduces the chance of reinjuring at or near the injury.

I've used this on hamstring pulls/tears in the past and it seems to have worked very well for me. YMMV.

 

[Yeti]

Some advice on rehabilitating a pull/tear:

(I believe I got this information from one of my coaching classes back in college...)

try isotonics: tensing the muscle area that was injured. (Tense and hold for 30 seconds, relax. Repeat 3 or 4 times; do a couple times every day.)

I was told this promoted "crosshatching" in the muscle fibers (in addition to bringing blood flow to the area) which reduces the chance of reinjuring at or near the injury.

I've used this on hamstring pulls/tears in the past and it seems to have worked very well for me. YMMV.

Makes sense. I'll try to add it to my routine...Lord knows I have enough desk time to sneak in a few hamstring exercises!

Thanks - :asian: