Q. I am an avid runner. Several months ago I pulled my hamstring muscle during sprint work. I seem to re-injure it every time I try to pick up the pace. Any suggestions?

A. Hamstring injuries are very common in runners, especially sprinters. Runners never stretch enough and tight hamstrings are almost a guarantee. Tight hamstrings are more likely to be injured.

It sounds that you need to spend some time away from running, doing more cross-training activities such as swimming or cycling and also getting into a good rehabilitation program geared towards preventing recurrent muscle strain. Once a muscle is strained it sometimes heals with some scar tissue which is even tighter then the tight muscle you started with.

Therapy involves the use of certain modalities such as ultrasound or heat to help the healing process. Also proper preventive stretching and strengthening is essential. When strengthening the muscle it should be strengthened in both the positive (concentric) and negative (eccentric), phase. Eccentric muscle strengthening, also known as a lengthening contraction (the movement when lowering the weight), is often neglected but very useful in prevention of muscle strains. Eccentric strength training should be done slow and controlled and is great to prevent recurrent muscle pulls. Also, be sure to warm-up properly and stretch before running- and stay well hydrated.