Take Care of Your Hamstrings...and They'll Take Care of You!

In my previous post "Hamstrung" I mentioned that tightness in your hamstring muscles could create a multitude of dysfunction and pain.  Today, I will cover some simple exercises that you can do to return those overactive, tight hamstrings to their normal resting length...and function.

Okay everyone, it's time to grab those SMR tools that you purchased, and put them to good use.

What!? You haven't taken the time, or spent the money to purchase them?

You do realize that I am providing you with a great deal of valuable and free information, right?  You do know that this information is not just my opinion...it is evidence-based, and proven to work.  To work however, the correct tools need to be used.

It's kind of like a firefighter trying to dowse a fire without the right tool...water.

Okay, Okay...I'll put down the stick, as the horse is now dead.

I've won this award a time or two...really!

So....

Those of you who have purchased yourself some SMR tools, let's get started!

Our focus today is the hamstrings however, to get the most benefit, we are going to begin working on our feet.  Remember a few posts back, when I introduced the topic of fascia?  I stated that our bodies are completely interconnected, from head to toe, with an intricate network...the fascial web, as it is often referred to.

It is because of this network of fascial tissue, that we begin our hamstring work with the point(s) of our bodies that take the brunt of most everything we do...our feet.

I would like you to take off your shoes...you may leave your socks on if you so desire.

Now I would like you to slowly, without bouncing, bend over and touch your toes without bending your knees.  Take note of the sensations you experience along the back of your legs...from your calves all the way up into your high-hamstrings.  Do not force this!  I simply want you to take note of how it felt and how far you were able to get down.  Once you reach your limit (without forcing it!) slowly return to a standing position.

DON'T FORCE IT!

What you most likely felt was a tightness, and some associated tingling running the length of the back of your legs (posterior chain).  You may have also felt some discomfort in your lower back.  Low back pain/discomfort could be attributed to injury in your back (you know who you are), or simply due to the strain being placed on the thoracolumbar fascia that we learned about in my last post.

 Okay, now grab your tennis ball or the Trigger Point Therapy ball from your kit.

You are going to place the ball on the floor, and gently place your bare (or socked) foot on top of the ball, allowing it to fall into the arch of your foot.  Apply a light amount of pressure to the ball, and begin rolling your foot forward and backward on the ball...progressively adding slightly more and more pressure to the ball.

Correct positioning of the tennis ball

This should cause you some minor discomfort.  Discomfort is acceptable...pain is not!  If you are experiencing pain, try reducing the amount of pressure you are applying.  If this does not help, and continues to cause you pain, you should make an appointment with your doctor to make sure you do not have plantar fasciitis...a painful, chronic inflammation of the fascia on the bottom of your feet.

Continue rolling forward and backward 8-10 times.  Now begin making small circles with the ball as you roll your foot rotationally 10 times clockwise and 10 times counter-clockwise...again, applying progressive amounts of pressure to the ball, but staying out of the pain-zone.

Repeat the above sequence for the opposite foot.

Now...let's try that toe touch again.  Many of you will notice that you were able to get a little deeper, and that the discomfort of the stretch has lessened in both your calves and your hamstrings.

It's like magic!

Go ahead and take a seat on the floor, with your legs extended in front of you.  This next exercise can be performed with the tennis ball, a foam roll, or the yoga block and small roller in your TP Therapy kit.

Position the tennis ball under your lower leg, just below the bulk of your calf.  This position places the ball on your soleus muscle...one of the muscles of the calf complex. 

The ball or roller should be placed below the bulk of the calf.

You can modulate the amount of pressure you apply to the muscle by pushing with your hands into the floor, and raising your hips off the ground.  If you have never done this exercise before, or have not performed for some time, you will likely feel immediate discomfort with very little pressure.  Once again...discomfort is acceptable, but pain is not!

Slowly roll towards your your ankle, stopping short of the Achilles tendon.  You will likely feel areas along the muscle that are more painful than others, and may have palpable knots.  Rolling too quickly will not allow you to pick out these individual tender areas, and will have the opposite effect on the Golgi Tendon Organs (GTO's) than what we are looking for.  Do you remember the GTO's?  If not, re-visit my post "Self Myofascial Release Techniques for the Golfer".  The speed at which you roll should be roughly 1" per second, to provide the greatest benefit.

Roll up and down, stopping before you reach the bulkiest part of your calf.  Pick one or two of the most tender spots and hold on them for 15-20 seconds.  You should feel the pain and pressure lessening after about 20-seconds...which is exactly what we want.  That is the relaxation response from the GTO!  Pretty cool huh?

Next, place the roll or ball right in the middle of your calf (also known as the Gastrocnemius muscle), applying the amount of pressure that you can tolerate.  Remember.....NO PAIN!  Slowly roll toward your ankle, and back up towards your knee.  Try to stay within the bulky part of your calf, and do not...I repeat...DO NOT roll all the way up to the back of your knee.  Again, find the most tender spots, and sit on them for 15-20 seconds.  If you can tolerate 30 seconds, then try that out as well.  Repeat the process for the opposite leg.

Now that we have taken care of the feet and lower legs, let's get to work on those hamstring muscles!

If you are using a tennis ball or the TP Therapy ball, place it on the floor, and center it in the middle of your hamstrings as shown below.  The ball will provide a much more concentrated effect, and can create too much discomfort when beginning SMR exercises.  You can modulate the amount of pressure by changing the position of your hips.  Once you have found the correct spot and pressure level, follow the instructions below.

Use of a foam roll, as shown below, is recommended for those of you who are relatively new to SMR, as the diameter is larger and therefore does not concentrate the pressure in as small of an area as compared to the ball.  Position the foam roll under your thigh as is shown in the picture below.  Once correctly placed, slowly roll up and down along the length of the hamstrings, stopping short of both the knee and the butt (glutes).  Once again, you should identify the most tender spots, stopping to rest on those areas for 15-30 seconds.  Repeat this process for the opposite leg.

So what's next?  

When muscles are overactive, they often become shortened.  Remember the term adaptive shortening?  If not, read my blog post titled "Let's Get Our Move On!"for a review of what that term means.  When muscles adaptively shorten, they create imbalances in strength and function, and need to be returned to their normal resting length.  Re-lengthening of muscle tissue requires stretching.

We will discuss static stretching techniques, as well as dispel some myths about stretching, in my next post.

Thanks for reading!

Yours in Health and Performance,

John