Pancake after high hamstring tendonitis?
Hello! I would appreciate some advice in case someone has related experience.
I used to have a flat stomach-to-floor pancake, but over the years I kept ignoring some discomfort under my butt and pushing too much I think, and it slowly became worse, hurt more and took longer to warm up. Then I stopped stretching for a few months, and it went back to what it was before, but a bit worse, and after a few cycles like that it would no longer warm up and I could feel pain in other movements like straddle kick up to handstands and my straddle press to handstand disappeared, and then eventually sitting in a normal straddle hurt.
I got some physio and osteopath help who identified chronic inflammation and scarring in the attachment to my sit bone, and suspect I've been loading the stretches onto my tendon instead of my hamstring, and straining other muscles along the way that were trying to pick up the slack. I got some shockwave therapy and been doing single leg glute bridges and single leg RDLs, sump RDL and cossacks, and my tendon has calmed down mostly and I now don't feel it in straddle sitting, straddle handstand kickups etc, and my 'normal person rehab' is done.
Is there a way I could safely go back to stretching pancake, or are there some exercises I could do to learn to engage safely in a straddle forward fold? I don't need my floor to stomach back (already let go of my dream for a stalder press) but having a solid lean I feel safe in would be nice so I could at least get my straddle press back. Would also like to know if that definitely won't work or isn't safe so I don't make it flare again.