Back in late February, a patient named Arnaud injured himself while playing tennis. The injury caused him to limp and prevented him from running, which was particularly problematic because he was planning on running in the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon in late March. Aspiring to get back to health in time for the half marathon, he came to see us at Dynamic Sports Physical Therapy in New York City.
Upon our evaluation, Arnaud’s therapist Alan noticed that he was in fact walking with a huge limp, and he also had a large amount of bruising and swelling along the back of his thigh. Over the course of the first two weeks of his injury, this bruising had migrated downwards toward the back of his knee, and he also told us that he had difficulty walking, sitting and using the stairs in the early stages after his injury. Based on these findings, Alan diagnosed Arnaud’s injury as an acute hamstring strain, meaning that it had occurred recently and was not severe.
Arnaud made it clear that after completing treatment, he was hoping to get back into running and complete the United Airlines NYC Half Marathon on March 20, with a goal time of around 1:40:00.
From there, Alan created an individualized treatment program for Arnaud with these goals in mind. For the first 10 days, physical therapy focused on managing Arnaud’s pain and reducing the swelling in the area. To help reduce the swelling, Alan used some RockTape and also utilized the Graston technique, in which a variety of specially designed instruments are used to mobilize an injured area. As the inflammation and swelling began to subside, treatment transitioned into the exercise phase. Arnaud started with basic exercises for the hamstring and eventually progressed into exercises that required more effort. As the pain in his hamstring reduced, even more demanding exercises were then slowly incorporated into treatment to strengthen his hamstring, such as single leg exercises and explosive jumping movements.
After four weeks of treatment, Arnaud returned to running and set off on the half marathon soon after, completing it in a time of 1:41:23. Arnaud was pleased to come as close as he did to his target time, and had this to say about his treatment experience: “You did an amazing job in getting me back to run within four weeks.”
Arnaud’s story shows that he wasn’t going to let a hamstring strain prevent him from running a half marathon, and at Dynamic Sports Physical Therapy in New York City, we acknowledged his goal and helped him achieve it. We’re proud to see Arnaud back into running and wish him the best in his future.
If you have an injury that’s preventing you from accomplishing your goals, let us help you get back into your stride. Call Dynamic Sports Physical Therapy in New York City at 212-317-8303 to schedule an appointment today, and for more information on hamstring strains, read our last blog.
