hot or cold,,,,??

ice pack for 10-15 minutes(what you can endure). to reduce the imflamation(sp) aka sweling) say once every hour.

heat is good, but after the swelling goes down.

I have 'tennis elbow' and doc's been using 'laser' on it. It's actuall Far Infrared Radiation (FIR in the trade) .well I made my own 'laser', Ain't as fancy but works the same. FIR gets the energy(heat) down deep into the arm (or leg) unlike a heating pad,which heats the surface and  eventually goes in a bit.

Please find a 'personal lift' or whatever they call the 'engine hoist for humans' !! I've seen them on Kijiji up here(Cl for Canucks..) very cheap(new they're $$$ !). You NEED one of them PDQ otherwise you get hurt, can't help the better half.

Others are giving good advice about getting some mechanical help doing the lifting. Hoyour(spelling) lift is the fancy name but a clever guy could do it with that high dollar Harbor Freight equipment .

  Well,,I just got home from the Dr's office,,and she said I pulled my Hamstring and has some swelling issues. There is a knot of muscles or nerves bout halfway down the back of my thigh,,,Dang,,,it hurts,to just touch it !! she said that can be very painful,,ARE you kidding,,?? I told her I would trade her this pain for anything she's got. Altho,,I can get around some, it takes forever with bout 6" at a time,,, Tryin to learn how to use a walkin cane and the wife liked that as it was her Uncle up in Nort Dakota that gave it to me. Fact is,,I think I posted it here some time ago, but,,Chit it is different day,,,,, Dr gave me a script for Tramadol and some muscle relaxers,,so think I'm fixiin to get some Z'''''

 Many Thanks for all the concern, Guys,,,lookin like I'm gonna have to go buy some Black Label

Joe, whats ye tryin to do to yourseff? 

Them pulled hamstrings sure do hurt when thet happens.

Take care of your self so you mend back to feelin good again.

Here's some input for you.

Hot and cold application could be done via a shower, too. Just turn the water on slow over the area. 

Incorporate calcium into your diet via yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. and anything else with a high calcium content as calcium relaxes the muscles.

You could also just get a calcium/magnesium supplement from the health food store.

The magnesium relaxes the nerves.

If one is having trouble going to sleep at night, taking this supplement before going to bed will pretty much drop you off and you'll rest better. 

Also, sleeping in a North/South position will give one better rest as the body isn't fighting the magnetic pull of the earth's N/S poles while you're sleeping.

Something else, pick up a whey protein supplement to get started rebuilding the muscle tissues. I saw some at Walmart in the big cans for about $18,here.

Another point, be drinking apple juice, grape juice, cranberry juice to get the kidneys working to help flush the body of any lactic acid in the muscles.

What I like to do is to mix Bragg's ACV with the apple and grape juice to help heal and relieve the muscle and joint pain. 

"About" 2 tblspns in a 16oz glass and then fill it up with juice. 

ACV is a natural pain reliever. 

You can also do this: drink Ocean Spray white grapefruit juice, (half gal. a day or so) - it'll be next to the Ruby Red in the store -  OR -- cut up and liquify in a blender a whole grapefruit a day and drink it for the day ( add water to top of pitcher) for a week as this will clean out the lymphatic system which is one of the body's drain systems for carrying away toxins from the cells. 

If this isn't decently clean, the body recycles the toxins which allows the body to get sick easier. 

Also, I'd strongly suggest to visit a chiropractor and have them get your physical structure, joints and muscles, balanced back up top to bottom.

If your neck and lower back lumbar region is aligned and squared up, both legs will be the same length. 

If not, that's one aspect of not being squared up and centered and you'll be putting more stress on and in other areas. 

Think of a 2-3 story house. If it's foundation isn't as strong and supported and squared like it can and needs to be, then the rest of the framework built on top of that will have weak and stress points to fail later on. 

Also, make sure that your arches and ankles are aligned. Install an arch support if need be as it'll "shift" the body's vertical structure as your feet will hit the ground "differently", but for the better. 

In the course of everyday life, when mishaps happen, the impact on oneself won't be as hard as it would be if we weren't aligned and squared up structurally. 

I know about this because I was "flat footed" until I made that correction and afterwards, I had a better "sense" of balance. 

You'll find that when your body is aligned like it's supposed to be, you'll be stronger and can think easier, given enough rest daily. 

That's all that I can think of for now off of the top of my head. HTH. 

  Hey Jim,,,that right there is a GREAT article, GUY,,,!!! And ,,I really like the idea of the ACV with the fruit juices,,,,and,,,and, I KNOW ole Shameless is fast on his way to the grocery store to load up on the Apple Cider Vinegar,,,him likin it so much,,,,

  I'm doing some better now and have been using the massager on my inner and outer thigh muscles 3-4 times a day plus I got some SalonPas Pain relieving patches that seem to do the trick. Dr told me to keep massaging the sore muscles so do that as much as I can stand. Thanks for all the help, Guys,,,,,

   I tooks a big ole swig of it! after things settled down a bit, I was about to jump in the truck and visit that sand snake fellow down there!  

  OH NO,,,!!!!  Shameless,,,,,I "suggested" 2 tbs of ACV in a "Glassful" of water and add some honey and drink it all down,,,,,holy chit,,,"a big ole swig",,chit,, that might be enough to get even ole Les out of bed,, it be so strong,,,,whew,,,

 Hey Jim,,Go ahead and post it,,,I drink a lot of tea, cause I like the taste of it and the ACV recipe I gave ole Shameless is bout the same,,,I really like it on a hot day as is soooo refreshing,,,,,,

 Thet Shameless,,,he likes to do things the dangerous way,,,don't he,,,????