Dehydration a Main Key in Muscle Pulls?

[MikeMartial]

In the past 3 months, I've had two major hamstring pulls in my left leg. Scenario is as follows: hour of TKD, sparring at the end of class, high right side kick, and <bam>, left ham pull.

I've studied Kurz's book, I've adhered to prevention/recovery, but I couldn't figure out why it happened a second time.

After a bit of reasearch, I came across articles refering to dehydration as being a main culprit in muscle pulls. Creatine being what it is, and fatigue/dehydration at the end of class, could have caused this.

I'd like to hear of other's input/opinions on creatine and muscle injury.

Note: Recent edit for spelling.

[THE MAILMAN]

As someone who is currently recovering from a left hamstring pull, I can "literally" feel your pain. I have heard this theory, and I think I believe it. On the day of my hamstring pull (before TKD class) I was helping out with my son's baseball team. Ordinarily I try to drink a lot of water, but I had been drinking a lot of Pepsi. I sprinted to get to a ball and felt the muscle pull. I don't think that I had done anything out of the ordinary that resulted in the muscle pull. Your post reminded me about my water intake. I am currently taking time off of TKD (I'll be off for the month of May) to recover. I am at 90-95% right now, but I don't want to push things too soon. Good luck with your recovery...and drink lots of water!

Tim

[mmeloon]

Mike,

I don't have any experience with creatine (I choose not to use sports-enhancing substances for personal reasons) but I have done a little bit of looking around myself about links between creatine and injuries out of curiosity-sake. I fully admit that I didn't do a very thorough investigation but as far as I could tell, there were claims supporting either side. That is, some people were claiming that creating left individuals more susceptible to injury and others were actually claiming that creatine helped protect you from injury. So my feeling is that research on creatine and injury is probably still at an early stage and no one knows for sure. Perhaps I didn't look at the right resources and there really is compelling evidence one way or the other.

If you're concerned about creatine playing a role in your injuries, one option is to discontinue it and see if this improves your resiliance to injury. Another thing to consider is whether your warmups are appropriate for the workout you are doing. As Kurz points out in his books, the traditional static passive stretching done in so many dojos really should not be done prior to a workout containing explosive motions. A third possibility is that your first injury never healed 100%, unbeknowest to you. Your "second" injury may really be a re-aggravation of an existing low-level problem. It's possible that your injuries have nothing to do with creatine or water.

Good luck with healing from the injuires.

-Mark

[MikeMartial]

Thanks for your replies, guys.

I had actually thought I had the hamstring pull mystery beat, but just last wek, I pulled my RIGHT hamstring, doing the exact same thing---high side kick (this time left leg kicking), near the end of class, pull to the supporting leg. WOW, talk about frustration.

So---I've been off creatine a while, trying to stay hydrated, and being diligent about daily stretching. Now I'm leaning down the path of muscle weakness; the flexibility is there to kick high enough, but possibly not the muscle strength to withstand such a dynamic movement at near-maximal flexibility. As soon as I'm rehabbed from this pull, I'm going to start incorporating some hindu squats and isometrics (horse riding stance). I've been meaning to get back into weightlifting, but specific to martial arts---high rep/lower weight versus low rep/high weight.

[THE MAILMAN]

Yeah, I missed the part about Creatine in your first post. Not a bad idea to dump it and stay natural. My hammie is just about ready to start some light workouts. I am going to give it one more week. Good luck on your rehab. Take it slow and easy!

Tim

[Thomas Kurz]

Both high rep/low resistance and low rep/high resistance have place in m.a. training. As far as your hamstring is concerned, after getting it back to normal with squats, strengthen it with good mornings, leg curls, and deadlifts. I do deadlifts in sets of 6-10 reps and do not remember straining a hamstring since I included deadlifts and good morning in my workouts (more than 20 years ago).

[MikeMartial]

Mr Kurz,
Thanks for adding some input on this thread; your opinions and experience are much appreciated!

After 3 hamstring pulls (you'd think I'd have figured it out by 1) on the supporting leg, I'm realizing what needs to be done. From "Stretching Scientificaly"---one reader had asked why he felt a stretch in the supporting leg while doing rear leg swings : "The weakest link will feel it first". Well put.

I plan on low weight/high rep to strengthing the tendons and connective tissue, then later on move to a high weight/low rep for power and strength.

Once again, thanks everyone for their input.

[kylabird]

Mike,

Every post here has some pretty good value in helping with a pulled hamstring. As well as steady hydration, focus on increasing your potassium intake. This is an incredibly useful step in keeping your muscles happy and healthy. Also in conjunction with potassium, a magnesium/sodium balance is in order.

There are plenty of foods that are loaded with potassium, I usually have half an orange on my way to class (Taekwondo/Hapkido) as an added kick to my intake.

I myself have pulled hamstrings, but a regular stretching routine, proper hydration and diet should keep the strains away.

What kinds of stretches and warmups are you doing for you sidekick? In between the regular class and the sparring, do you have a chance to drop into a straddle, maybe while putting on your ho-gul?
Let us know how you're healing!
~Kyla

[Guest]

Thanks for the reply, Kyla!
I've recently started to add a pre/post workout drink called "Cytomax"; it has a good ratio of sodium/postassium, along with complex carbs and lactic acid buffers. Normally I don't endorse any specific product, but this one has made a world of a difference. But I do like your orange-before-TKD. I'll have to add that in also.

Also, my massage therapist recommended a Mg supplement, too. She actually said she could "feel" the lactic acid buildup in my hams---dunno about that one, but I've added a Mg supplement at night, which also has seemed to help.

I'm convinced that in my case, dehydration/electrolyte depletion was the main cause of my hamstring pulls.

Since my injuries, I've dropped creatine, upped my H2O intake, and reinforced my diet. Stretching? Yes, of course----but I've been rather lax over the summer, but I've been maintaining my flexibility, and have had no new injuries.

Conclusion: What you put into your body (or, rather, what you do *NOT* put into your body) *CANNOT* be underestimated.

[MikeMartial]

Bah, that was my post, forgot to log in

[xmetalheadx]

Muscles are really tricky. Using them as often as we do can lead to some major problems. The tricky part is that muscles need 48 hours to fully recover from strenuous activities, but at the same time if not used, they begin to deteriorate after 72 hours. Go figure. I understand that for many of us going a day without training is just not an option. I myself train 5 days a week. I train in both: muay thai and bjj. One day I'm on my feet, brusing my shins; next day I'm on the ground bruising my back. So I decided to use regular strength tiger balm before each training to relax my muscles. After each training or at least every 2nd day I use muscle soaks. I use them a lot because they really help. The best one I found so far is made by AROMA

http://scentandlight.com/produkty.php?idp=191&id=11