Free your Hamstrings, Improve your Performance, and Save your Knees

fUnc17 · 10-06-2006, 11:27 PM

A surprising number of problems arise from tight hamstrings and, given the frequency of knee injuries among athletes and dancers, it's obvious that the methods used to keep them free could be better. This article presents a more effective way to free your hamstrings, improve your performance, and avoid injury. A Look at Your Hamstrings

The hamstrings are the muscles that run from behind and below your knees up the backs of your thighs to your "sitbones". Soft tissue injuries, knee pain, torn menisci (the cartilage pads in your knees that cushion the bones), chondromalacia patelli (painful wearing of the cartilage behind the kneecaps), and poor posture often come from tight hamstrings. Tight hamstrings can prevent you from reaching full leg extension or from bending over completely. If you can't touch your toes or if you feel more comfortable slouching than sitting up straight, your hamstrings are probably tight.

There are actually three hamstring muscles on the back of each thigh, two on the inside and one on the outside. They do several things. In addition to bending the knees, they help control the alternate forward-and-backward movements of walking and stability against twisting forces at the knee when you turn a corner or roller skate. They also position the menisci in the knees by means of fibers (of the biceps femoris) that pass into the knee joint.
Tight hamstrings contribute to swayback by pulling the knees behind the body's vertical centerline (i.e., locking the knees). The whole body sways forward, accentuating the spinal curves. If the outer hamstrings are tighter than the inner ones, the lower leg rotates toe-outward. This twist in the knee joint contributes to knee pain, to knee injuries, and to ungainly movement. Finally, when standing, bent knees trigger tension in the muscles on the front of the thigh, the quadriceps muscles, to prevent your knees from buckling. If you keep your knees bent all the time, the patella, or kneecap, which is embedded in the tendon of the quadriceps muscles, continuously grinds against the front surface of the knee joint and may become irritated.

As you can see, hamstring tension has far-reaching effects on movement, balance, and the health of joints.

Why Stretching Doesn't Work for Long

Knowing all this, athletes and dancers attempt to stretch their hamstrings. "Attempt" is the correct word because stretching produces only limited and temporary effects, which is one reason why so many athletes (and dancers) suffer pulled hamstrings and knee injuries.

As anyone who has had someone stretch their hamstrings for them knows, forcible stretching is also usually a painful ordeal. In addition, stretching the hamstrings disrupts their natural coordination with the quadriceps muscles, which is why ones legs feel shaky after stretching the hamstrings.

Fortunately, there is a more effective way to manage hamstring tension than by stretching. To understand how it works, one must first recognize that hamstrings that need stretching are usually holding tension -- that is, they are actively contracting. In that case, the person is holding them tense by habit, unconsciously. Oddly enough, if one tries to relax them, one is likely to find that one cannot; one may then assume that the muscles are completely relaxed and need stretching. You may not realize that those muscles are contracting "on automatic" due to postural habits stored in your central nervous system. Any attempt to stretch them simply re-triggers the impulse to re-contract them to restore the sense of what is "familiar". That is why hamstrings (and other muscles) tighten up again so soon after stretching or massage. Better results come by changing the person's "set-point" -- their sense of what "relaxed" is.

What Works Better

To change the set-point requires more than stretching or massaging; it requires a learning process that affects the brain, which controls the muscular system. Such a learning process is referred to in some circles as "somatic education". Somatic education systematically uses special coordination patterns to improve awareness and control the tension of the muscular system. Significant results come relatively quickly, and when they do, the benefits are second nature and require no special attention in daily life.

The following coordination pattern, developed by Thomas Hanna, Ph.D., a pioneer in the field of somatic education, will show you. You may want to save this page so that you can try it on your own. Have someone read the instructions to you and follow along.

http://www.somatics.com/pdf/somagic,_hamstrings.pdf

fUnc17 · 10-06-2006, 11:45 PM

Also, another great article on this subject from a chirpractor's viewpoint.

http://chetday.com/backchronicpain.htm

Brutus_G · 10-07-2006, 05:00 AM

I just tried it and my knees feel like they are lubricated with butter. Great find func i'll do these every day.

mike456 · 10-29-2006, 02:46 PM

you find the best fucking articles lol, I did one shitty rep of this, and my knee feels a little better

AKIRA · 10-29-2006, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brutus_G

I just tried it and my knees feel like they are lubricated with butter. Great find func i'll do these every day.

Tried what? The stretches in the 2nd reply (the link)?

Ive dont a stretch similiar to the towel around the foot. I just use a belt instead. Its some tough shit, but breathing REALLY helps with the tightness.

Brutus_G · 10-29-2006, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKIRA

Tried what? The stretches in the 2nd reply (the link)?

Ive dont a stretch similiar to the towel around the foot. I just use a belt instead. Its some tough shit, but breathing REALLY helps with the tightness.

Yep the 2nd reply.

**Gazhole** · 10-30-2006, 12:21 AM

Thats brilliant. Good one, fUnc!

Lost Grizzly · 10-30-2006, 06:26 AM

Tight Hams can also cause lower back pain as well. I have suffered from sciatica and have learned to keep my hams loose to keep the pain away.

Your sciatica nerves run down from your lower back towards your knees through your hams. If your hams are tight they can pull on your sciatica nerves and cause pain as if you have a bulging disc.

**Dale Mabry** · 10-30-2006, 07:04 AM

Good alternative theory. Personally, I prefer stretching as it is good for recovery, but am always interested in alternatives. I agree you shouldn't just stretch the hammies, a comprehensive stretching strategy is key if you are going to even bother with stretching.

assassin · 10-30-2006, 02:02 PM

nice article I have this problem when trying to stretch my hamstring .... since I'm not using my computer I've sent a pm to myself with the link to keep it for reading later ........ good job func you have provided me with several great

articles.

AKIRA · 10-30-2006, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

Good alternative theory. Personally, I prefer stretching as it is good for recovery, but am always interested in alternatives. I agree you shouldn't just stretch the hammies, a comprehensive stretching strategy is key if you are going to even bother with stretching.

But what IS an alternative? The first article just states that stretching isnt enough. I want suggestions!

mike456 · 10-30-2006, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKIRA

But what IS an alternative? The first article just states that stretching isnt enough. I want suggestions!

you have to go to this site, and then scroll down http://www.somatics.com/pdf/somagic,_hamstrings.pdf

10-06-2006, 11:27 PM	#1
fUnc17 Drop and give me 100 Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Jersey Shore BJJ Posts: 1,862 Photos: 12	Free your Hamstrings, Improve your Performance, and Save your Knees BODYBUILDING SUPPLEMENTS High Quality Supplements For Bodybuilders and Athletes. www.ironmaglabs.com A surprising number of problems arise from tight hamstrings and, given the frequency of knee injuries among athletes and dancers, it's obvious that the methods used to keep them free could be better. This article presents a more effective way to free your hamstrings, improve your performance, and avoid injury. A Look at Your Hamstrings The hamstrings are the muscles that run from behind and below your knees up the backs of your thighs to your "sitbones". Soft tissue injuries, knee pain, torn menisci (the cartilage pads in your knees that cushion the bones), chondromalacia patelli (painful wearing of the cartilage behind the kneecaps), and poor posture often come from tight hamstrings. Tight hamstrings can prevent you from reaching full leg extension or from bending over completely. If you can't touch your toes or if you feel more comfortable slouching than sitting up straight, your hamstrings are probably tight. There are actually three hamstring muscles on the back of each thigh, two on the inside and one on the outside. They do several things. In addition to bending the knees, they help control the alternate forward-and-backward movements of walking and stability against twisting forces at the knee when you turn a corner or roller skate. They also position the menisci in the knees by means of fibers (of the biceps femoris) that pass into the knee joint. Tight hamstrings contribute to swayback by pulling the knees behind the body's vertical centerline (i.e., locking the knees). The whole body sways forward, accentuating the spinal curves. If the outer hamstrings are tighter than the inner ones, the lower leg rotates toe-outward. This twist in the knee joint contributes to knee pain, to knee injuries, and to ungainly movement. Finally, when standing, bent knees trigger tension in the muscles on the front of the thigh, the quadriceps muscles, to prevent your knees from buckling. If you keep your knees bent all the time, the patella, or kneecap, which is embedded in the tendon of the quadriceps muscles, continuously grinds against the front surface of the knee joint and may become irritated. As you can see, hamstring tension has far-reaching effects on movement, balance, and the health of joints. Why Stretching Doesn't Work for Long Knowing all this, athletes and dancers attempt to stretch their hamstrings. "Attempt" is the correct word because stretching produces only limited and temporary effects, which is one reason why so many athletes (and dancers) suffer pulled hamstrings and knee injuries. As anyone who has had someone stretch their hamstrings for them knows, forcible stretching is also usually a painful ordeal. In addition, stretching the hamstrings disrupts their natural coordination with the quadriceps muscles, which is why ones legs feel shaky after stretching the hamstrings. Fortunately, there is a more effective way to manage hamstring tension than by stretching. To understand how it works, one must first recognize that hamstrings that need stretching are usually holding tension -- that is, they are actively contracting. In that case, the person is holding them tense by habit, unconsciously. Oddly enough, if one tries to relax them, one is likely to find that one cannot; one may then assume that the muscles are completely relaxed and need stretching. You may not realize that those muscles are contracting "on automatic" due to postural habits stored in your central nervous system. Any attempt to stretch them simply re-triggers the impulse to re-contract them to restore the sense of what is "familiar". That is why hamstrings (and other muscles) tighten up again so soon after stretching or massage. Better results come by changing the person's "set-point" -- their sense of what "relaxed" is. What Works Better To change the set-point requires more than stretching or massaging; it requires a learning process that affects the brain, which controls the muscular system. Such a learning process is referred to in some circles as "somatic education". Somatic education systematically uses special coordination patterns to improve awareness and control the tension of the muscular system. Significant results come relatively quickly, and when they do, the benefits are second nature and require no special attention in daily life. The following coordination pattern, developed by Thomas Hanna, Ph.D., a pioneer in the field of somatic education, will show you. You may want to save this page so that you can try it on your own. Have someone read the instructions to you and follow along. http://www.somatics.com/pdf/somagic,_hamstrings.pdf
	Strength Edge

10-06-2006, 11:45 PM	#2
fUnc17 Drop and give me 100 Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Jersey Shore BJJ Posts: 1,862 Photos: 12	Also, another great article on this subject from a chirpractor's viewpoint. http://chetday.com/backchronicpain.htm
	Strength Edge

10-07-2006, 05:00 AM	#3
Brutus_G Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 4,910 Photos: 24	I just tried it and my knees feel like they are lubricated with butter. Great find func i'll do these every day.
	"People do it everyday, they talk to themselves... they see themselves as they'd like to be, they don't have the courage you have, to just run with it."-Tyler Durden

10-29-2006, 02:46 PM	#4
mike456 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 3,282	you find the best fucking articles lol, I did one shitty rep of this, and my knee feels a little better
mike456 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 3,282	Journal

10-30-2006, 07:04 AM	#9
Dale Mabry Moderator Moderator Join Date: May 2003 Location: Elsewhere Posts: 13,748 Photos: 10	Good alternative theory. Personally, I prefer stretching as it is good for recovery, but am always interested in alternatives. I agree you shouldn't just stretch the hammies, a comprehensive stretching strategy is key if you are going to even bother with stretching.
	If sense were common, everyone would have it. 4/2007-Current 75th Ranked most popular image 1 spot behind Prince's bulge...

10-30-2006, 06:26 AM	#8
Lost Grizzly Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 71	Tight Hams can also cause lower back pain as well. I have suffered from sciatica and have learned to keep my hams loose to keep the pain away. Your sciatica nerves run down from your lower back towards your knees through your hams. If your hams are tight they can pull on your sciatica nerves and cause pain as if you have a bulging disc.

10-30-2006, 02:02 PM	#10
assassin Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: egypt/cairo Posts: 2,150	nice article I have this problem when trying to stretch my hamstring .... since I'm not using my computer I've sent a pm to myself with the link to keep it for reading later ........ good job func you have provided me with several great articles.

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