Drake Harris' "minor" Spring Hamstring Injury Persists; Countess with a Minor Groin Issue
Starting to get a bit worried about Harris here. We were told in Spring his hamstring was a minor thing and nothing like last year's injury but per this mlive story it's still an issue 3 months later. In fact it sounds like a new injury as Hoke said it happened earlier this week. So that would be 3 hamstring situations in 12 months. Not sure if hamstrings can be a perpetual issue but he seems to have some serious issues with them - looked like he was headed for a RS either way with the weight this year but am more concerned long term if this is going to be something he always has to deal with. I think the original injury to the other hamstring happened last August or September so he has essentially been shelved for a full year due to hamstrings.
Countess also with a minor groin issue.
http://www.mlive.com/wolverines/index.ssf/2014/08/michigan_wr_drake_har…
August 8th, 2014 at 10:03 PM ^
August 8th, 2014 at 10:05 PM ^
August 8th, 2014 at 10:10 PM ^
He injured the "other" hamstring in spring and again this week.
August 8th, 2014 at 10:29 PM ^
It sounds like right hamstring in HS and again in spring ball. The recent injury is the left hamstring.
August 8th, 2014 at 10:32 PM ^
It is hard to figure out which hamstring from the way it is written - maybe I misread it. But neither outcome is good. Either he reinjured the minor one from spring or he reinjured the major one from last year. For a position that relies on explosion out of breaks having 2 hammies that are not reliable is not good. It also hurts the mentality of the player who always has in the back of his mind that any cut or burst can demolish the back of his legs.
August 9th, 2014 at 12:29 AM ^
This is very concerning. He had a complete year off to heal. Reinjured the same hammy. Then injured the other hammy this fall after taking most of the summer and spring off. Its concerning that he may be prone to this. I had high hopes for him this year becasue he brings skill sets unlike any we have seen in some time at Micjhigan. But when you combine his weight loss and his hammy issues this is looking more like a redshirt year for him.
August 8th, 2014 at 11:41 PM ^
is hilarious
How can one lose interest in one's own music video?
.August 8th, 2014 at 10:24 PM ^
August 8th, 2014 at 10:17 PM ^
Harris should redshirt. We already have Canteen, Funchess, and Darboh.
August 8th, 2014 at 10:17 PM ^
Harris should redshirt and spend a majority of that time doing leg curls.
August 8th, 2014 at 10:47 PM ^
Hamstring strains do not occur because they are too weak, they occur because they are too tight and/or overly stretched. See my post below on the anatomy of a hamstring strean.
August 8th, 2014 at 10:24 PM ^
August 8th, 2014 at 10:29 PM ^
was charged with three counts of assault from a July 18 altercation.
August 8th, 2014 at 10:35 PM ^
Here's mine from last fall.
August 8th, 2014 at 10:57 PM ^
August 8th, 2014 at 11:28 PM ^
August 9th, 2014 at 10:59 AM ^
some funny response to the picture, but since I can't beat yours, you win!
August 8th, 2014 at 11:27 PM ^
August 9th, 2014 at 12:46 PM ^
August 8th, 2014 at 10:39 PM ^
Thought I read Ojemudia was banged up all of last year. Not a good sign.
August 8th, 2014 at 10:45 PM ^
Hamstring strains are a pain in the butt and are often persistent and reoccur. The single best predictor of hamstring strian is previous hamstring strain. Once you have an injury there the tissue may never have the same density, whether it's the fascia, tendon, or muscle. The problematic ones tends to be the pulls on the gluteal fold where the hamstrings attach the the ischial tuberosity. This area can get gunked up in some athletes due to the large number of tissues that converge there and produce a lot of force in a small area. We also tend to sit on our proximal hamstrings attachments which isn't good for blood flow or tissue regeneration. It could also just be tendinosis/overuse/excessive loading, but these things occur on a grading system.
But, the hamstring itself is not always the problem. Many times tight hamstrings, pain, or discomfort presents due to an inability to control the pelvis posteriorly. Having an anterior pelvic tilt puts the hamstrings at a constant length/strain. In addition, those with lumbar disc issues often pain and tightness in the hamstrings that could be due to a nerve entrapment. Also having poor gluteal control and/or poor anterior core strength can all factor in here.
But, now that he's in a good S&C & medical/training place the folks there should be able to adaquately assess and rehab this stuff. Manual therapy of the posterior hip, building stability and control in the right areas such as re-learning anti-extension and anti-flexion (of the spine) with a neutral pelvis, glute activation and working on learning a posterior pelvic tilt, building stability in the hamstring synergists, etc. will all help. Wellman, his staff, and the athletic training staff should all have a handle on this sort of thing.
August 8th, 2014 at 11:08 PM ^
August 8th, 2014 at 11:28 PM ^
Stretch the hamstrings less?...yes, but maybe stretch the hip flexors more. More deadlifts?...no probably not, those also stretch the hamstrings although it depends what kind of deadlift you're referencing (romanian, conventional, sumo, single leg, etc.). It would be good to re-educate a hip hinge pattern, but only if he can do so with a neutral pelvis. Got to back and learn to crawl befor eyou can run. Some single leg romanian deadlifts could be good to help the synergists and to learn eccentric control, but with light weights and shortened range of motion. But, more like do more planks, glute bridges, hip thrusts, etc., get some message therapy on the hamstrings, and do lots of dynamic warmups before going full tilt with any sort of sprint.
August 8th, 2014 at 11:39 PM ^
August 9th, 2014 at 12:43 AM ^
August 10th, 2014 at 9:58 AM ^
Agreed, chiro work can be helpful, but as you know it's effects will only last as long as the athlete can maintain proper posture, muscular, and joint balance. If he can't maintain a neutral pelvis through a simple hip hinge, he will never do so during high speed open skilled activity like a football game, and adjustments will only fall back into old positions. Bridging the gap between different disciplines/scopes of practice is what makes exercise science so fascinating.
August 8th, 2014 at 11:24 PM ^
August 8th, 2014 at 10:55 PM ^
August 8th, 2014 at 11:13 PM ^
what exactly does "poor gluteal control" mean?
August 8th, 2014 at 11:28 PM ^
"Is it a nagging thing? Some people have those. We've got to think a little bit about what we can do to help besides just rest. They know much better than I do, though."
I think that we're set up well enough at WR that this doesn't worry me too much and I think Harris can have all the time he needs to get to 100% and ready to go if indeed he was slated to play (nd not redshirt), so hopefully he heals and is back at practice as soon as possible. I am sure we'll hear more soon enough, but hopefully it is only a minor setback.
August 9th, 2014 at 10:08 AM ^
August 9th, 2014 at 11:04 AM ^
will be redshirting this year. And that's what he should do here. Get into serious rehabilitation and conditioning of his hamstring and other key muscles and joints as laid out above by MGoStrength, while also adding some weight. Then, hopefully, by next spring he'll be ready to get back into playing WR. In the meantime, we should be fine at that position.