Find out how I cured the pain in my hamstring glute tie-in that was caused by running fast on a treadmill.
I developed a pain in my hamstring glute tie-in as a result of doing high intensity interval runs on a treadmill.
Initially I thought the cause was making sudden stops after each sprint interval to rest for five seconds before getting back onto the tread, which I had slowed down.
The hamstring glute tie-in pain disappeared over time after abandoning the sudden-stop practice, and combining that with three times a week 30-minute sports massage sessions.
I gradually built back up in speed, gradually jogging out of each sprint interval instead of dead-stopping, but eventually, the pain in my hamstring glute tie-in (same leg) returned.
I dreaded my treadmill HIIT sessions. Then one day I accidentally discovered the cure to this aggravating hamstring glute tie-in pain: sprint outside!
When I’m in the foothills, I normally do HIIT using steep hills. One day I felt like doing a few sprints on a level area (I’d normally use a zero incline for my fastest treadmill sprints).
I anticipated the hamstring glute tie-in pain (which I’d feel to some degree when dashing up the hills, but not nearly as much as when using a treadmill).
I sprinted and there was no pain! I thought maybe this was a fluke or maybe I was entering another remission period from the hamstring glute tie-in discomfort (every once in a while it would seem to diminish a bit).
I did a few more sprints and they felt wonderful. My next HIIT workout was on the treadmill, and once again, the hamstring glute tie-in acted up.
I now knew for sure that there was something about natural running that prevented the pain, and something about the mechanics of treadmill running that causes the pain.
Not long after, I ran fast outside again on a level course, and my hamstring glute tie-in felt fine.
I decided right then and there, never again to do HIIT runs on a treadmill unless weather prevented me from sprinting outdoors.
Since then, every time I run hard outside, there is no discomfort, yet I feel it coming on when I sprint on a treadmill.
It’s a no-brainer: Outdoor sprints or runs are the cure for my hamstring problem.
If you’ve been having hamstring pain from treadmill running, sprinting or even slower jogging, and have tried massage, foam rollers, rest, ice, pills, heat, acupuncture and stretching, all without any luck — take your running outdoors and see what happens.
You might have been assuming all along that running outside is the worst thing you could do for hamstring pain that has developed from treadmill use.
However, it may be the best thing you can do.
Running on a treadmill is unnatural. The human body was not designed for this.
Running outdoors is a perfectly natural action that our bodies have been engineered to do.
Lorra Garrick is a former personal trainer certified through the American Council on Exercise. At Bally Total Fitness she trained women and men of all ages for fat loss, muscle building, fitness and improved health.
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