So it was the first really nice day yesterday here and I decided that I would use it to my advantage to do some sprints in the parking lot of the gym in the morning. I did a half hearted warm up and did sprints for the first time in months.
I was feeling pretty good until my fourth sprint when in the middle of it I felt a sharp pain in my hamstring. I hobbled back into the gym to assess the damage and see if I could work it out but it felt tight with a small dull ache no matter what I did. Something in the back of my head said that perhaps the injury stems from my approach to the big 30. More likely it’s from the lack of a proper warm up and the lack of sprint workouts for many months.
Needless to say that it put a damper on my workout for the morning.
When I hobbled into work I looked up the hamstring injuries and saw that there were 3 grades:
Grade 1: What does it feel like?
- May have tightness in the posterior thigh.
- Probably able to walk normally however will be aware of some discomfort
- Minimal swelling.
- Lying on front and trying to bend the knee against resistance probably won’t produce much pain.
Grade 2: What does it feel like?
- Gait will be affected-limp may be present .
- May be associated with occasional sudden twinges of pain during activity.
- May notice swelling.
- Pressure increases pain.
- Flexing the knee against resistance causes pain.
- Might be unable to fully straighten the knee.
Grade 3: What does it feel like?
- Walking severely affected- may need walking aids such as crutches
- Severe pain- particularly during activity such as knee flexion.
- Noticeable swelling visible immediately.
I definitely had the Grade 1 symptoms so I grabbed an ice pack I keep handy at work and iced it down. Compression was also recommended so I used an ace bandage wrap 
(which I also keep handy) to wrap my thigh then used a couple of strips of athletic tape (which I keep handy in my gym bag) to hold it all in place.
I only iced it about 3 times during the day and had the ace bandage wrap on for the workday (10 hours). I’m happy I took the time to do the maintenance on my injury as I believe that it resulted in an 80-85% recovery this morning. I was able to ride the bicycle for 15min without having to restrict my movements or any pain and I am walking around normally. It still feels tight so I will refrain from doing any strenuous activities but all in all I believe it will be a quick recovery!
If you have a higher grade pulled hamstring, you may want to invest in an adjustable compression wrap which can be found here at Amazon, user reviews indicate that it gets the job done. 
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