Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Confessions of a Hamstring Strategist


by Dr. Daniel Shaye, Chiropractic Physician


They say confession is good for the soul. By confessing, we not only cleanse our own soul, but also may help others who suffer. So, I confess: I AM A HAMSTRING STRATEGIST. I may always be a hamstring strategist; and thus I must be ever mindful, ever wary. My disease may or may not be curable, yet it can be managed. I can live, and run, despite it.

What is this terrible flaw, this condition so dark you may never have heard of it? You see, when some runners run, we straighten out our back knee on push-off as we over-use our hamstrings to extend the thigh. In my case, my hip flexors are happy to let the hamstrings do the hard work until, overloaded and overworked, a hamstring says: I quit! It's not that my hamstrings are weak (though they are weaker than I'd prefer); it's that my form tends to overuse them, until one or the other suddenly and painfully gives out.

I first learned of my non-fatal flaw over the Summer of 2010, and immediately began implementing the mantra of the hamstring strategist: 1. Stop stretching the quads and hip flexors (an overstretched muscle is an inhibited, underactive muscle); and 2. Practice activating the hip flexors. Stopping the stretching was harder than it seemed-- I do it constantly, and actually had built some pride in having an area of exceptional flexibility (as opposed to many other areas of my frame). Activating the hip flexors was easier: I had a myriad of exercises at the gym to accomplish that, and it was something I could focus on with every step I ran-- though initially it felt very odd, stiff, and counter-productive to lift my knees rather than attempting to bound forward with long, distance-devouring strides. If I hadn't seen a picture of marathon world-record-holder Paula Radcliffe, I might have dismissed the new form altogether. What I saw Paula doing caught my attention: Her back (push-off) knee doesn't straighten like mine prefers to, yet she manages a very quick and efficient cadence; and her 2:15:25 marathon clearly says, "Doing it this way works." I decided that until I'm running 16:02 5K's for the full marathon, perhaps what Paula does might be the better path. I immersed myself in the life of the Recovering Hamstring Strategist.

Over time, I actually came to embrace my new form... began running well... and then I did what addicts, sinners, and hamstring strategists alike will do: I got sloppy. I stopped doing my exercises. I took for granted that I was meant to be a runner-- a good, competitive runner even. I paid the logical price of pride and inattention: A late December relapse (see "Author's addendum" below).

When a competent health care professional helps you spot a flaw or impediment to your performance, it behooves you to listen and take action. It's amazing to me how much I've learned from my formal training as a doctor of chiropractic with advanced certification in sports, plus all my clinical experience, plus all my athletic experience-- and yet I still manage to get sloppy, to overlook the obvious, and to return to old patterns if I am not vigilant. I suspect that I'm not alone in failing to convincingly learn from each mistake. I hope that I can inspire not only by doing and teaching and embodying good habits, but also by sharing my failures and errors; for though one's own painful mistakes offer potent lessons, sometimes-- just sometimes-- we can and do learn from someone else's mistakes. Life is a process and a journey, much like running. Perhaps we'll never fully "learn" all the lessons, whether on the run or in relationships or in business and the many paths of our years; yet as we age, we may also mature and grow stronger, better, wiser-- together. Perhaps we might also grow more peaceful, happy, or both. These would seem to be steps in the right direction-- regardless of whether the hamstrings or hip flexors predominate.

I'll see you on the roads and trails, my friends.


-Dr. Daniel A. Shaye
Certified Chiropractic Sports Physician
Fellow, International Academy of Medical Acupuncture

Author's addendum: The photo is not a picture of the author running away; it is instead a picture of him finishing the Sentara Sleighbell 5K backwards, after pulling a hamstring at mile 2 1/4 made forward running impossible.

Do you have a question you'd like answered? Mail your questions c/o Performance Chiropractic1307 Jamestown Road, Ste. 103, Williamsburg, VA 23185; e-mail pchiro@performancechiropractic.com; or visit www.performancechiropractic.com

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