But how do you differentiate between a common but not serious problem like tight hamstrings and a more serious version, an actual hamstring strain? This straightens the leg and acts as a brake, helping your knee avoid hyperextension with each stride. Tight hamstrings — or even a hamstring strain — are usually caused by poor training or problems with running form. And the major aspect of running technique that can contribute to tight hamstrings is aggressive over-striding where you reach out in front of your body.
Squats — no matter the implement used — are great for strengthening your legs. Sure, they can definitely feel annoying. And an aggravated hamstring may give you pause before running too long or doing certain types of speed work, especially maximum efforts like hill sprints. Tight hamstrings are still capable of carrying you through a run. You might experience a dull achiness or simply the sensation that your hamstring feels like a tightly coiled spring.
You likely just have tight hamstrings rather than a strain. Another way to determine if your hamstring injury is an actual strain or something more minor is to think back to when the pain began.
Strains are far more serious than simple tightness. And there are multiple types of strains that can affect your hamstrings, too:. Holland explains that the largest reason why runners have tight hamstrings has to do with the load we put on the muscle. And endurance runners repeat that cycle thousands of times over a long distance. She also adds that sprinters are not immune, with their forceful contraction magnified with even more force and power.
When your hip flexors are tight, it causes a pelvic tilt that causes tightness in the lower back, and a tight lower back often results in tight hamstrings. The hamstrings consist of three muscles: the biceps femoris, semitendinosus and semimembranosus muscles. They arise from the same place on the pelvis, span the hip joint, separate and cross the knee joint; and attach on either side of the knee to the tibia and the fibula. This elongated position is exactly where the muscle is at the end of the swing phase of running see figure 2.
Hamstrings that lack this range alter the biomechanics of running, shorten the stride, and strain the muscles in the low back. Shorter hamstrings generally decrease hip flexion during swing. If the hip cannot fully flex, then stride length decreases. If the hip flexor muscles fight for that range and the hip does reach full flexion, knee flexion increases. Either way, tight hamstrings will alter running biomechanics, which means the stride pattern suffers. Tight hamstrings also pull the pelvis into a posterior rearwards tilt.
This decreases the natural curve in the low back. However, the muscles of the low back will fight to maintain this curve and protect the integrity of the spine. When muscle fatigue sets in from overactivation, the trunk leans forward and places even more stress on the low back. Remember that the knee must reach nearly full extension at the end of swing. If tightness in the hamstrings prevents this, the quadriceps may pull even harder to get those last few degrees of motion at the knee.
This unbalanced force of pull at the knee can cause painful patellar tendinitis and patelofemoral syndrome 3. This figure illustrates mid-swing and foot strike, which ends the swing phase of running. Researchers believe that the hamstrings are most vulnerable to injury during this transition. So does tightness increase this risk? To test the relationship between hamstring strain and flexibility, a group from the Shanghai University of Sport enlisted the help of ten male and ten female college students 5.
They hypothesised that during sprinting, the more flexible hamstrings would endure less muscle strain at the end of swing. Their hypothesis proved correct, as higher levels of hamstring flexibility were correlated with lower incidence of hamstring muscle strain.
This study, though small, is the first to show that a more flexible hamstring bears less strain in high speed running. To answer this question, a group of scientists at the Mayo clinic evaluated the hamstrings of healthy volunteers between the ages of 20 and 80 years. Therefore, they grouped their subjects into age brackets for every ten years of age, with each group containing roughly even numbers of men and women.
Surprisingly, age did not influence hamstring flexibility in either men or women. There was, however, a significant difference in the measurements between the genders 6. When a muscle is over-lengthened, it means it has been extended beyond its normal range of motion. Because hamstrings and quads work as opposing muscle groups to keep the pelvis stable, you need to help strengthen the hamstrings to counterbalance the pull of your quads on your pelvis.
Tight hip flexors can also add to this effect. If your hamstrings are too weak to compensate, this pelvic tilt causes them to become stretched too far at their attachment point. When your hamstrings are sore and over-stretched, static stretching makes them worse. Caught early, hamstring injuries can be managed with rest, a revised training plan, and strength work. At the first sign of injury, work your way through the following steps:. When you are back to running pain-free, rebuild your mileage and speed sessions carefully.
Start with easy running and slowly increase your volume. Speed work should be added gradually, starting with more aerobic workouts like fartleks and strides before building back up to any significant hill workouts or intervals requiring explosive speed.
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