Is There An Easier Way To Stretch Hamstrings?

Most of the patients that come to my office sit at a computer all day. (Who doesn’t these days?) I also seem to have more than my share of people that are active in running and working out, but not necessarily taking the time to stretch.

Since sitting all day at the computer is limited in its movements, the same areas of their bodies seem to get tight and stressed. One of the primary muscle groups that seems to lead to a lot of low back pain is having tight hamstrings. The hamstrings are the muscles at the back of your thigh. Can you bend down and touch your toes? If not, and you feel pulling at the back of your thighs, you probably have tight hamstrings.

Another test would be if you lay flat on your back, how high can you lift one leg at a time before your knee starts to bend, or before you start to get so much tightness that you can’t go up any further. If you can’t make it to 90 degrees, your hamstrings are too tight. If you can’t make it past 30 degrees, like a lot of patients, you are in trouble and need to get moving on regular stretching.

At this point, I do have to warn you that you should consult with a physician before attempting any exercise program. Done!

If you try to stretch your hamstrings in the most common ways; from a standing position and then bending over, or sitting on the floor with your legs stretched out in front of you and then try to reach your toes, you may be having trouble. Take a look at someone holding this position. They are doing more stretching to their backs then they are to their hamstrings. That’s because in order to hold that position, they have to be at 90 degrees! Which is the point you want to get to anyway!

Since you can’t do that, your back compensates and you reach out with your neck and strain you back. Try this instead: Sit at the edge of a chair or bench. Reach one leg out in front of you with your leg straight and your foot pointing straight up. Keep good posture and just reach as far as you comfortably can. If you feel a good stretch, then hold it for 30 seconds and then repeat. If you feel sharp pain or anything other than a stretch, back off until you get back to the right position.

It’s also way better to stretch after you’re already warmed up too, like after working out or having walked for ten to fifteen minutes. You’ll get a lot more out of the stretch and have fewer complications.