After my last blog post on overtraining syndrome, it is clear I will need to do a follow up on it in the future, so stay tuned! Last week I had two runners tell me that their hamstrings are tight. Interestingly, a lot of runners think their hamstrings are tight, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are in fact tight, but that they have pain or a sensation in their hamstrings, so they equate it to “tight” hamstrings and try to stretch them like a rubber band. Is that truly the answer to the problem?
I think it is common knowledge that the hamstrings are located on the back of the upper leg, but their function is not equally understood. I won’t bore everyone with their actual names, but their actions are to extend the hip or pull your leg into swing after foot push off from the ground and to create knee flexion. Equally important, they work opposite the quadricep muscles, by decelerating or controlling the opposite action of the quadriceps and vice versa as depicted in the illustration above. Have you ever heard of someone being “quad dominant”? What happens if there is a big strength difference between the quadriceps and the hamstrings? Which muscle group do you think would be stronger and tighter and which one would be weaker and maybe in a more lengthened position? I will give you a hint, breakdown the term quad dominant. That’s right folks, the muscle group that is strong (dominant) would be the quads and the poor hamstrings are the weak, lengthened muscle group. The point is that sometimes when people think their hamstrings are tight, the discomfort they feel may be because they are too weak for the work they are being asked to do, too weak for the quadriceps, or strained. None of the above require you to stretch the crap out of your hamstrings though and that is a fact. One of the reasons the poor hamstrings give you feedback, if you will, aka discomfort, and previously mentioned, is they are too weak to do the work they are asked to do. The hamstrings are active during the swing phase of the running gait, which is 60% of the gait cycle. A lot of the work is eccentric work or the lengthening of the muscles to oppose the contracting quadriceps. With that, I ask you this…when was the last time you did some eccentric training of your hamstrings? I have read in the evidence-based literature that eccentric exercises are common in injury rehabilitation settings, so it would seem appropriate that they should be common place in preventative settings. Prehab anyone? In addition to some eccentric hamstring exercises, lumbopelvic stability exercises are more than likely warranted. Say what? Basically, exercises that that stabilize the pelvis. I am not saying that runners don’t get tight hamstrings. I am saying that there are other potential issues other than tight hamstrings that give you discomfort in the hamstrings. As a matter of fact, I have a chronically annoyed hamstring that I still catch myself saying “Oh man, my right hamstring is tight” even though I know that I spend several hours a day tilting to one side during my day job as a dental hygienist, creating pelvic asymmetry. There is discomfort but it doesn’t mean it is tight. When I do movement screenings on my runners I very rarely see tight hamstrings, but almost always see weak hamstrings and tight hip flexors, including the one quadricep muscle that contributes to hip flexion. The a-ha moment here is don’t stretch the crap out of your hamstrings because that may be contributing to the problem, not improving the problem. Fight ON! Coach Gina
7 Comments
Ara Miralles
9/18/2017 02:31:30 pm
Hi Gina
Reply
12/27/2017 01:13:44 pm
I would like to commend this blog for posting an informative thing. This is something that we need in the community we live in. I hope that this could help you in deciding for things that we need to address as we make things. I really enjoyed everything. Please let me know about how can I help you so that I can give some ideas as an instructor. I hope this could make a difference. As I say, let's start being healthy.
Reply
Beverley
5/16/2019 11:20:05 am
My daughter Isabella age 14 doing athletic
Reply
12/27/2017 06:38:10 pm
Hello!
Reply
10/28/2019 03:58:11 pm
It's interesting to know that the hamstring muscles will give me feedback because they are still too weak to work with what I'm asking them to do. For this reason, I think I should buy a flexion support system for my hamstrings so that I won't damage them. I've been jogging recently and I've noticed that this is the main ache that I'm encountering, so hopefully, this will help me.
Reply
11/4/2021 07:48:29 am
Tight hamstrings are usually not a cause for concern. In most cases, they are treatable with stretches and exercises.
Reply
12/17/2022 03:18:41 am
When your website or blog goes live for the first time we provide.
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
October 2021
Categories |