Physical Therapy for Runners in Orlando & Winter Garden, FL
If you’ve ever had a hamstring strain or dealt with that nagging ache up near your glute (a.k.a. proximal hamstring tendinopathy), you know it can feel like it lingers forever. And if you’re a runner or endurance athlete training in Orlando or Winter Garden, there’s a good chance this issue has slowed you down at some point.
But here’s the truth most rehab plans skip: your hamstring rehab isn’t done just because you’re out of pain.
Most traditional rehab stops after strength is restored. You might be able to deadlift, hinge, or do hamstring bridges with no pain. That’s great — but if you’re a runner, triathlete, or field athlete, that’s only half the equation.
Your hamstring’s job isn’t just to produce force slowly — it’s to absorb and produce force quickly with every stride, every hill repeat, every sprint finish.
This is where fast-twitch fiber training comes in.
When you sprint, your hamstring lengthens quickly and has to decelerate your leg — this is called high-speed eccentric loading. If we don't train that in rehab, we leave athletes vulnerable to re-injury when they return to running or sport.
Especially in performance physical therapy, and especially for our endurance athletes here in Orlando and Winter Garden, we need to bridge the gap between "pain-free" and "ready for race pace."
Here’s how we do it.
This is a progression we often use in our clinic with runners, CrossFitters, and active adults who are building back after hamstring issues who have safely progressed through a heavy slow resistance program and isometrics for tendon healing and pain management.
Seated Reactive Hamstring Kicks
Supine Hamstring Flutter Kicks (on Stability Ball)
These drills activate the posterior chain and start reintroducing quick muscle contractions in a low-load, controlled way.
Velocity hamstring curls
Power-Up Hamstring Curl
Controlled Curl with Rapid Release
Rapid-Fire Hamstring Curl
This phase is all about training rate of force development. You're teaching your body how to decelerate quickly and re-fire efficiently.
Velocity Single-leg RDLs
Barbell RDLs:
Now we're layering in more load and more demand — still respecting the tendon, but building back to sport-specific demand.
If you're dealing with a hamstring issue and you've only been doing slow, heavy strength work, you're not done. Without speed, you're only prepared for half of what your sport demands.
And if you're logging miles in the Florida heat, training for fall races, or getting back after an injury, your hamstring needs to be ready to go the distance — and do it fast.
If you're not sure where you are in your rehab or return-to-run journey, let’s fix that. We work with runners and endurance athletes across Orlando and Winter Garden to get back to doing what they love — pain-free, fast, and strong.
👉 Book a performance screen or evaluation with us at Core Values Physical Therapy.