Hamstring Avulsion (complete tear from pelvis)

[ventued]

Hello All:

Thank you all for the insights that have been posted on this "rare" injury. I was water skiing 26 months ago when I felt the "pop", followed the next day with a bruise from my butt to the bottom of my foot. After 6 weeks on crutches and 13 weeks of PT, I started to run again. I ran my first half marathon in April of last year and thought my slower time was a result of another year of age (I'm now 52). I trained more and ran the NY Marathon last November very slowly with a bunch of pain and tightness. This year after my 4th half marathon I was close to immobile so I went to another sports injury specialist who recommended surgery for my 10cm of scar tissue. I had a 2nd opinion by a Dr who also recommended surgery. I was on the fence until yesterday when I went to my chiropractor (who had been treating me with ultra-sound all along) who also said I should have it repaired. Now my decision is made and I will be scheduling the surgery tomorrow morning hopefully for sometime in December. I've taken note of all the comments posted thus far, but will welcome insights to living with a hip brace and 90 degree knee brace. How do you sleep? Use the toilet? Sit? Etc.? I know you all can offer some practical advice. Thanks in advance!

[I Fell]

One week post op and I feel great and pain free but just can't do much with the braces and crutches. The bathroom adventure is well a pain in the a$$. Doctor on Fridayand PT next week. My plan as posted above seens similar to yours. I can't wait to get started.

[I Fell]

Ventued Sorry to hear that it took so long to get a proper diagnosis. I have a different brace than most seem to have Mine is around my waist with a rod running down the leg and attached to a piece wrapped around my leg above the knee. Hip is locked at 15 degrees but from the knee down is free. Sleeping isn't too bad with this set up. The bathroom is another story. After reading here I got a portable commode that sits above the toilet. It has hand rails to help sitting down and getting up. A raised seat wouldn't be as useful. Have plenty of wipes handy. I found paper towels more useful to start than tissue.

Heal well

[leggybird]

hi \ventued

What type of hamstring injury did u have? A complete Avulsion?

This is why i pushed for surgery from the start with my injury as it is not uncommon for people years down the line to have to end up having surgery in the end.

It depends if they put you in a hip or leg brace (both do the same job) but leg brace is more comfortable. For the first two weeks it is very uncomfortable. I tended to sleep on my side with a pillow between my legs but after a few weeks you may feel bruises from lying in the same position. Because you cannot get the stitches wet, i tended to lean forwards over the bath and just put one leg into the bath and used the detachable showerhead over my bath to wash (but if you dont have one of these over your bath i would get yourself one of those hoses that attaches onto the taps as you wont be able to have a bath or get in a shower cubicle) but this may only be manageable a week or so after surgery depending on how sore the stitches are when you move.

Hello All:

Thank you all for the insights that have been posted on this "rare" injury. I was water skiing 26 months ago when I felt the "pop", followed the next day with a bruise from my butt to the bottom of my foot. After 6 weeks on crutches and 13 weeks of PT, I started to run again. I ran my first half marathon in April of last year and thought my slower time was a result of another year of age (I'm now 52). I trained more and ran the NY Marathon last November very slowly with a bunch of pain and tightness. This year after my 4th half marathon I was close to immobile so I went to another sports injury specialist who recommended surgery for my 10cm of scar tissue. I had a 2nd opinion by a Dr who also recommended surgery. I was on the fence until yesterday when I went to my chiropractor (who had been treating me with ultra-sound all along) who also said I should have it repaired. Now my decision is made and I will be scheduling the surgery tomorrow morning hopefully for sometime in December. I've taken note of all the comments posted thus far, but will welcome insights to living with a hip brace and 90 degree knee brace. How do you sleep? Use the toilet? Sit? Etc.? I know you all can offer some practical advice. Thanks in advance!

[leggybird]

Hi Greggo, thanks for info on p/t. Can i just ask what type of injury did u have? You seem to be weight bearing very quickly, was it a complete avulsion of all 3?. I think this forum is quite confusing for people who read up on it as there is a vast difference in rehabilitation for detachment of just one on the 3 hamstrings. For anybody reading this forum, there are different methods/recovery timescales for a complete avulsion (pulling all 3 hamstrings off the iscial tuberosity) to maybe just pulling one or two. I have detached all 3 of them but no bone fragment has come away with them, so i have 3 anchors in my bone and they have been reattached onto that.

[I Fell]

Ventued Sorry to hear that it took so long to get a proper diagnosis. I have a different brace than most seem to have Mine is around my waist with a rod running down the leg and attached to a piece wrapped around my leg above the knee. Hip is locked at 15 degrees but from the knee down is free. Sleeping isn't too bad with this set up. The bathroom is another story. After reading here I got a portable commode that sits above the toilet. It has hand rails to help sitting down and getting up. A raised seat wouldn't be as useful. Have plenty of wipes handy. I found paper towels more useful to start than tissue.

[Greggo]

Hi ventued, I was at the point you are at approx 5 wks ago, when I had the option to continue with PT, and have no surgery, ---or schedule surgery and get this thing fixed. I am also a runner, and ironically I was considering runnng the Austin Marathon next spring (would have been my first marathon) when the waterskiing injury ended that!! During my initial evaluation with PT they told me that I could have some type of non-descript pain at a later date, and they could not give me a good idea of what my functioning would be without surgery--but it would not be the same again, ever. Best estimate was perhaps 70% of pre-injury strength. So... I opted for the surgery and am now 5 wks post OR. I think you are making the right decision. I had the affected leg tied up behind me at a 90 deg angle for 2 wks, which was a challenge...but doable. If you have read the posts you know some of my history here. I too usually slept with a pillow between my legs, and sometimes felt like I would flip myself back and forth from side to side all night like a pancake. I had a shower stool that I propped my injured leg on while standing on the good leg when I was in the shower.
Leggybird: I had a complete avulsion, but not a bony avulsion--the bone was intact. I have 5 stainless anchors in the ischeal tuberosity where the tendons are attached. I will get some more info from my surgeon, but I was under impression that two of the muscles have a common insertion point, and one of them is just lateral to that. In any regards, I tore the whole complex off!! At PT today, I was on a stationary recumbent bicycle for 10 minutes! Did that ever feel good--then I did a series of 11 exercises. These are just very gentle with no weight or strain, just trying to get the hamstrings to "fire" a little. I am weight bearing as tolerated (which is pretty much), and it is recommended I use one crutch only now, with no crutches starting next week (wk 6). I have to watch I DO NOT slip or fall, which could be catastrophic at this point. But so far so good. Talk to you all later,
Greg

[ventued]

Hi All:

Thanks for the practical suggestions and your comments. My list now has on it a portable toilet and a shower stool - and with Christmas coming I'm all set. My surgery is set for 12/15 so if any other thoughts/suggestions, etc. come up, please post them. I'll be getting my brace fitted a couple of weeks beforehand and pass on any suggestions they may have as well.

For those who asked, I have a complete avulsion that has about 10cm of retraction. A bunch of scar tissue is there and it seems it's continuing to grow (or so says my naturalist chiropractor who has been treating it with ultra sound and still recommended I go through surgery). My surgeon said he may need to graft a tendon if my muscle isn't elastic enough. No matter how you look at it, I'll still be better off than the donor. (yikes!)

Greg: I'm optimistic that this is all going to work out for me, so I'll be applying to run the NY marathon in November of 2009. I'm figuring that my 20 week training program will need to begin the end of June. I'll have the 6 weeks in a brace bringing me to the start of February. From February until June I'll have PT going and should be able to log at least a couple of miles a week, so I'm set. I'm also told recovery is quicker if you have something to focus on, so would you care to join me and run a couple of miles at a marathon in solidarity? (If you're focused on Austin being your first one, I'll apply to that for February 2010.)

Chevyman - sorry that you're now one of us. Good luck with your surgery and quick healing! (Don't regret going to parents' weekend -the years go by too fast - just as they do while the kids are growing up. I have one in college and one in law school - I used to let them come in before me at half marathons, now at mile 3 they say "see ya".)

[Vollmer]

Glad to hear everyone is recovering well. This website/forum has been a big help to me, not only in giving wonderful advice about what to have handy to ease the complications that arise from one leg bounded, but also to know that others are going through the same thing and coming out alive and well on the other end. The long recovery process is rather dark when just beginning.

To All: I have a complete avulsion of the semimembranosus muscle from the ischium. My muscle was retracted 8 1/2 cm and started to attatch itself to my sciatic nerve with scar tissue. I now have 2 titanium anchors in my ischium. The anchors were tied to my tendon holding it in place on the bone. I was told no weight bearing/no sitting up for 6 weeks. I hope this gives a clear answer to folks.

I am getting so anxious to move around more! I feel myself spending more and more time outside, using my crutches out of bed. It is really too bad I am not allowed to sit up, as I would love to get back to work, even if sitting at a desk would be my fortune. Good luck to all!

[Chevyman]

I'm getting really excited now. I just got my brace! Wo hoo! It is basically a knee brace, one like you see after acl surgery. They told me the doctor is going to put it at a 45* angle for three weeks, then reduce the angle and see how I feel. They did say that I can take it off when I take a shower and from what I've read on here a shower chair sounds like a good idea!

I have a qestion for those of you that have already had the surgery. Is the incision site below the butt cheek? This brace rides high on my leg so I am scared it is going to hit the incision.

Ventued, thanks for the encouragement! Good luck to you as well. I'm really looking forward to parents' weekend next week but am nervous about the surgery two days later! I will let you know how it goes.

Greg, sorry you did not get to run the Austin marathon. Austin was the last marathon I ran-- back in 1998! From what I've heard the course went back to the harder, hilly one! Hope you get to do it in 2010. I have retired to just running 10'ks and might do a half again after I heal.

Thanks to all of you for sharing your stories so us newbies can see what lies ahead! Heal quick everybody!