The hamstrings are speed generators. They are part of what we call "the Big 5” power muscles.
The Hamstring group helps the Gluteus Maximus extend the hip and increase stride length.
Most hamstring injuries are not at the distal end, where they cross the knee joint. This particular attachment (the insertion) is where the knee bends or flexes.
Hamstring injuries tend to occur at the origin surrounding the Sitz bone, right at the heel of your pelvis.
We don’t associate muscle origins with much movement.
However...
If the hamstrings lack stability and flexibility at their attachment when at full gallop, they can slow you down and potentially micro-tear at the muscle-tendon junctions.
Most people are thigh or quadriceps-dominant and tight hamstrings create a force and counterforce that the weaker hamstring cannot compete with.
The hamstrings need to be strong and flexible to counter the anterior forces produced by the front-loaded thighs and hip flexor muscles.
A hamstring strain is stubborn.
When it is torn, it can bother you when you’re simply walking or even sitting.
When a hamstring strain finally heals, you slowly build up your training to levels near your top speed with light running and sprinting.
If those muscle tears are not properly healed, they will fight back, and the inflammation will reappear due to the muscle fibers not being stable enough. This means not enough time has been spent on rehabilitation to bring the tissues back to full function and range.
Not all cases of hamstring pain are strains. Some are simply muscle pains from tight and restricted hamstrings.
What are some causes of tight hamstrings?
Muscle imbalance
Disc compression
Prolonged sitting
Previous hamstring strain
Acute and chronic hamstring strain
Muscle Imbalance
You see this often in women who lock out their knees and hold their pelvis in a 15-20-degree forward tilt. This weakens and reduces neuromuscular tone. When someone has an extreme anterior pelvic tilt, the hamstrings are constantly “switched on” as they try to pull the pelvis back.
This push/pull loads up the lumbar muscles, resulting in extension-based back pain and lumbar erector strains.
It is not recommended to perform long-hold static stretches on the hamstrings of people with strong anterior tilts, as the tissue is already lengthened.
You run the risk of making the pelvis and lower back more unstable.
This is particularly true for women who have less rigid ligamentous structures (more congenital laxity) to protect them.
They need stabilization, not mobilization. It is also sensible to work on hamstring synergists such as the Gluteus Maximus and Minimus. These synergists keep the pelvis and knees straight and create a more even pull on all the hamstrings.
Stabilizing the anterior core also helps remove and reduce pelvic alignment issues.
You should always finish your hamstring training with some light, active, and dynamic flexibility work.
This will help to train the tissues in eccentric and concentric movements with less injury risk.
Unlock your knees, bear your body weight on your heels, and keep your hamstrings working during everyday activities. Conscious change is always an excellent starting point for postural correction. Not all flexibility training is about lengthening muscles and soft tissues. It is about optimizing function and balance on both sides of the joint.
Hamstring tension from disc compression
Just because you feel hamstring tightness doesn’t mean the hamstrings are the source of the problem. What does the nerve do? It commands the muscles to contract. If the contraction is too strong due to nerve compression, the muscle will become hypertonic.
In fact, it’s not uncommon for those with lumbar disc issues to present with radicular pain, tightness, or numbness/tingling in the legs—especially the hamstrings. This is where short-duration and light-assisted neural stretches are essential. The intention is not to release soft tissue but to let go of nerve compression.
Tight hamstrings from prolonged sitting
In order for the hamstrings to really be over-contracted, one would have to spend a lot of time with the knee flexed and hip extended, as in the position you’re in at the top of a standing leg curl.
That’s a challenging pose to hold for an extended period of time. The sitting position is most likely to cause tight hamstrings, especially if the pelvis is tilted posteriorly.
In this case, active flexibility training would be needed.
Laying on your back, perform at least 3 sets of 10 repetitions starting with a bent knee.
Then, extend the knee to full range with a rope or strap. Hold the position for 2 seconds and then return to the starting position.
Then, perform 3 sets of 10 repetitions with a straight leg and lock your knee.
Add variation by rotating the hip inwards and outwards to isolate the different parts of the hamstring.
Previous Hamstring strain
The single highest predictor of hamstring strains is a previous hamstring injury.
Once you have an injury, that area may never be the same from a tissue pliability and flexibility standpoint.
A previous injury can leave athletes feeling “tight” in the region, so regular manual therapy can certainly help to break up the soft tissue adhesions.
Athletes with long-term hamstring weaknesses tend to have pulls higher up the gluteal fold. This is where the hamstring tendons attach to the ischial tuberosity or sitz bones.
Perhaps more problematic, though, is the fact that we sit on our proximal hamstring attachments—and that isn’t exactly right for blood flow and tissue regeneration.
Very simply, an athlete with a previous hamstring strain needs regular manual therapy and flexibility training in the area. He also needs to maintain mobility and stability throughout the pelvis.
Acute and Chronic Hamstring strain
Of course, the other reason you have tight hamstrings is that you might actually have a hamstring injury!
It could be a hamstring strain or an overuse issue where tissue loading, let's say from running, exceeds tissue tolerance for loading. When doing rehabilitation exercises, shorten your lunge stride.
This makes the movement slightly more quad-dominant but allows you to still control the frontal and transverse planes with the appropriate gluteal and adductor recruitment at the hip.
These muscles keep the hips and knees straight.
Reducing the stride length can reduce the eccentric contraction movements of the hamstrings, which can relieve a lot of stress.
If you’re trying to squat, start with front squats at the beginning and progress to back squats, as they will be more hamstring-intensive.
Knowledge of your body is critical to repair your injury.
If you are in hip flexion and knee extension, you’re going to really be stretching the hamstrings and likely irritating them in the process.
Select exercises that don’t hit these painful end ranges and then gradually introduce more dramatic ranges of motion as healing improves.
Do hill sprints before regular sprints. Your stride will be shorter with hill sprints, and that will take a lot of stress off the hamstrings at heel strike.
This should also make you realize why you can’t treat all hamstring strains the same way.
If you suffer from any of the ailments mentioned in this article and need help, contact us to book a consultation with one of our therapists. They will assess your posture, measure your range of motion, explain to you what’s going on and how they can help. They will also develop a program of flexibility and strength aiming at addressing and resolving your particular issue. You will decide then, how you want to proceed.
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