Hamstring Stretch
By Taylor Norris RMT at unionwellness.ca
The group of large muscles that lie at the upper portion of the back of our legs, most commonly known as the hamstrings, is made up of three separate muscles; Semimembranosus (innermost), semitendinosus (middle) and biceps femoris (outermost). They begin at the lower ‘sitting bone’ area of our pelvis and femur, and end near the back of our knee at the upper portions of our tibia and fibula (lower leg bones). They work together to make it possible for us to flex at our knees and extend at our hips.
When the knee is flexed, semimembranosus and semitendinosus help us rotate our lower leg inward while biceps femoris helps us rotate our lower leg outward. We use them when we sprint, jump, weightlift, or do hurdles.
When running movements are involved, the hamstrings work to slow our legs at the end of their forward swing to stop our trunk region from flexing forward at the hips. Sometimes these muscles become injured due to lack of warm-up or when they are too suddenly lengthened.
They can contribute to low back and knee pain, restricted stride length during walking/running, and can even be involved in leg length discrepancies.
To stretch the hamstrings, first lie on your back on a mat or blanket and have a strap or towel handy. Then actively straighten your leg with the strap/towel around the sole of your foot, try to do this stretch for at least 30 seconds. Repeat for the other leg. Gently pull the strap/towel toward the floor for a deeper stretch.
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