In November I had a pretty severe hamstring injury that all but stopped most physical activity for awhile, but I found that I could ride my bike even when it was painful to walk. As I slowly began to heal, I did get a little paddle in December in my rec kayak about one month after the injury. Then the weather killed any thought of getting on the water until just a couple of days ago. A very nice sunny day came along and it was time to see if I could get in and out of a sea kayak. I took the Sirocco up to a local lake and finally got the first paddle of 2017. It was great to be back in the saddle–no trouble getting in and out of the boat, or carrying it. The only residual of the injury is an irritating soreness in the right cheek. I know it’s going to take awhile yet before I can get back in the shape I was in before the injury, but it’s such a joy to just get back on the water.
Kinda like going home again, getting back in a kayak after a long absence. Heal well!
Glad to hear you’re back and paddling!
I had a grade 2 tear in my left calf last week during a run. Rest, ice, compression, elevation and all that and I’m hobbling around and feeling sorry for myself! At least I can now stretch the muscle a little and I figure I’ll be back running in another week or so.
It takes time. I pulled a hamstring while sprinting after no warmup several years back (oh to be young and still immune to such things). I actually heard it make a very loud “pop” when it let go. The “hamstring guru” at the University of Wisconsin Sports Medicine Center said that recovering full strength from such a tear is not the norm, but he had a working hypothesis that strengthening all the other muscles in the hips and lower leg would greatly reduce the chances of future re-injury, and you’ve got nothing to lose by trying that. I had the additional problem of putting great importance on very high flexibility, and it took a very long time to get the flexibility back. A couple years, I’d say. Feels good to be back in action, though, huh?
Man I hope it doesn’t take two years for this thing to completely heal. I did another paddle today and I was able to go quite a bit further. However, that nagging pain in the butt ( no, not my wife) was with me after the first half mile. I learned that if I sort of pumped my feet a little, the soreness seemed to let up a bit. The longer I paddled the more I was able to tolerate the pain. The good thing is that the pain goes away completely when I get out of the boat.
speedy recovery to ya!
Glad you’re healing up!
Given the length of recovery, that had to be a severe injury, magooch. Hope you sought medical treatment and that physical therapy was prescribed - and if so, you’re still doing it.
Great! I had my knee replaced in Oct… I am looking forward to kayaking Florida in two weeks… There is something healing about the water. Which is a little hard here. Sure I could go to the ocean but sliding on ice with a new knee that is kind of sensitive isnt my idea of fun!
No I didn’t go to the doctor for the hamstring pull, My leg still works just fine, but as I said, I’ve been riding my bike before I could walk. I can’t say I’m back to 100%, but I’m close, I used to be a long distance runner, but I stopped that a few years ago. The bike is a lot easier on knees and hips. But I crashed a couple of times about a week and a half ago–stinking ice!
I went paddling again today for paddle number three; it gets better each time. What I’m really happy about is that I have no trouble carrying my kayak on my shoulder and the one I’m using right now is My Sirocco and loaded with my stuff, it must be at least 75 lbs.