There are myriad reasons behind hamstring tightness. But before we move on, I would like to ask, what exactly are the hamstrings?
The hamstrings are a group of strong muscles located at the back of the thigh. They span the whole thigh originating from the sitting bones to the back of your knee.
Hamstring tightness will commonly present with discomfort or pain at the back of the thigh with the inability to fully stretch out the back thigh muscles.
In this article, we will show you the common causes of hamstring tightness, how you can self-assess for hamstring tightness plus the ways of alleviating this problem.
Causes of hamstring tightness
- Diseases of the hip region.
Diseases of the hip region can lead to abnormal postures which are adopted to relieve the tightness and pain in the hip joint.
If these postures are adopted for prolonged periods of time then the hamstrings could develop contractures which will present with stiffness and pain.
- Injury to the hip joint.
Injuries like fractures and infections in the hip joint could lead to patients adopting the flexed hip position. This is a position of least discomfort during these ailments which leads to muscle shortening hence tightness.
- Abnormal posture.
Just like injury to the hip, some conditions predispose to abnormal posture. Forexample individuals with a psoas abscess .
A psoas absess means that a pocket of pus is located within the psoas muscle in the back.
This abnormal posture keeps the leg in an abnormal posture which ultimately leads to tightness of the hamstrings
- Spine diseases.
This includes conditions like slipped disc, nerve entrapment and spondylolisthesis (forward displacement of the bones of the back).
This can lead to impingement on the nerves that pass between these structures descending to the legs. Irritation of the nerve by movement will lead to pain.
These spine conditions will presents with pain when the hamstring muscles are stretched which can happen during leg raises or forward bending.
- Sporting activities.
Some sporting activities have a high prevalence of sports injuries like high speed running, rugby, and football, to mention a few. Hamstring tightness could be the first sign of injury.
- Inactivity
The common rule is that, what you don’t use will atrophy. This is no different for the hamstring muscles. You could be having tightness from inactivity or the prolonged disuse of the muscles.
Assessment for hamstring tightness
- Finger to flow distance
How to;
An individual is meant to bend at the hip joint and attempt to touch the floor without bending the knees.
If there is tightness, it is impossible to touch the floor without experiencing marked discomfort in the back thigh muscles. This is a simple and effective test to assess Hamstring tightness that you can do yourself at home.
- Straight leg raising test;
Short form is SLR test. This test is often done in clinical settings by doctors.
How to;
With the patient lying on the back, another person will lift the affected leg by the heel and if there is hamstring tightness, the individual will start to feel pain.
A normal leg raising test is between 60 to 90 degrees. If however, there is pain at less than 40degrees, this could indicate hamstring tightness.
- Active knee extension exercise
How to;
Here, the affected person lies on their back. The normal leg is extended and kept straight.
The affected leg is flexed at 90 degrees at the hip joint and initially kept extended at the knee joint.
Then, while the examiner continues to support the back of the thigh, the patient will slowly begin to bend their knee until they start feeling pain. This indicates hamstring tightness.
Exercises for hamstring tightness
Most importantly, before starting any physical treatment regimen especially stretches and massage, is to find out the cause of the tightness.
Don’t take hamstring tightness lightly as it could be the only symptom of a much bigger problem.
So now that we have that out of the way, how to deal with tightness through stretches.
- Downward dog stretches.
This is a yoga pose where you place your palms on the flow and make an inverted V and while in this position, you really try to stretch out the back of your thighs, keep your back straight and heels must touch the mat.
Stay here for 20 seconds taking deep breaths in and out
- Straight leg raises
Lie on your back and lift one leg at a time until it is perpendicular to the floor. If experiencing pain, you can bend it at the knee joint.
Hold it there for 30 seconds then move to the opposite leg.
Modification; you can make this easier by threading your hands behind the thigh and using that as support to lift the leg and keep it up.
- Sitting hamstring stretch
Sit on the mat and fold one knee so that it touches the inner thigh of the opposite limb (straight leg).
Then bend forward and touch the toes of the straight leg.
Count to 20 and then sit back up. Repeat this 3 times on both sides. If you are just starting out, it is alright to only touch as far as the leg and then you keep improving over time.
In conclusion
Hamstring muscles are essential to our day-to-day activities. They can become tight due to diseases or injury in the spine (back) or the hip, from sporting activities, or due to inactivity.
It is essential to see a doctor about your hamstring tightness to rule out any other serious medical condition.
A few stretches can be used to relieve this problem.
