Softball and Hamstring Injuries:

It's mid-March in the Midwest and softball players are itching to get outside and swing the bats and throw the ball around. Time to shake off the rust that may have accumulated in your body over the winter. While many lift weights to keep in shape and hit the ball farther, it doesn't always prepare you for the explosive movements that occur when swinging, throwing, or sprinting.

So you definitely want to ease into things and give your body time to adapt to the new demands you are placing on it. Softball can be played as you get older, as evidenced by the number of over 50 and over 60 teams seen recently. Usually, a little power is lost and running speed slows a step or two, but as long as you maintain a basic level of fitness, you should be okay.

Obviously, a fitness training program consisting of strength and stretching exercises will go a long ways toward preventing injury. But what about the dreaded hamstring pull (strain)? Are you more prone to this injury after the age of 30 and if so, what can you do about it? Glad you asked.

I can speak from personal experience that hamstring pulls are a pain in the butt, literally. About eight years ago, while playing softball early in the season, I strained my right hamstring while running the bases. I was on first when a ball was hit to the fence in centerfield. As I rounded second base, I thought that I would shift into a higher gear and pick up the pace.

As it turned out, I didn't have a higher gear at that point and pulled my hamstring in two places, one where it attaches at the hip and the other closer to the knee. It felt like someone kicked me in the butt when it happened, this was the attachment at the hip.

In any case, I used ice and got some ultrasound treatments and continued to play for the next four weeks. I wrapped it up tight with an adjustable neoprene brace that kept my leg warm and ran about 50-60% speed. I would be the catcher or extra hitter and so wouldn't have to run much. It slowly got better or at least felt better, I thought.

Then one game, we were short a player and I ended up playing right field. A throw to first base went over his head and into short right field. He didn't go after the ball and I saw that the runner was going to score if noone picked up the ball. My competitiveness overcame any thoughts of protecting my leg and I reinjured my hamstring. At this point, it took a long time to fully heal and hampered my ability to play for quite a while.

The hamstrings can be prone to injury with sprinting and need special care to help prevent injury. While it took several months to get over this injury, I can now run interval sprints with no problems and no soreness afterwards at the age of 41. Part of proper training for the hamstrings involves dynamic flexibility. In other articles I've discussed the merits of being flexible in motion by using dynamic flexibility. It works!

I've written a new article on my website Elastic Hamstrings - Injury Prevention for those over 35. You can check it out and read other articles on dynamic flexibility.