We’ve all been there, we spend a long time sitting and when we go to stand up and walk we feel a pull in the back of our thigh and feel like we can’t stand completely upright. Those tight muscles we feel stiffening up are our hamstrings. These are the muscles that we commonly feel to be tight or restricting with our motion in our legs or sometimes our lower backs. The hamstrings are a large muscle group made up of 3 muscles:
- semitendinosus
- semimembranosus
- biceps femoris
These muscles attach from the bottom of our pelvis to just below our knee. The hamstrings are responsible for extending our leg and the hip and for bending our knee.
Why Do Our Hamstrings Tighten Up?
There are many reasons for tight muscles. For our hamstrings, sitting for prolonged periods of time will cause our hamstrings to be put in a “shortened” position for a long time which will cause them to feel tight. It could be a sign of injury, like a muscle strain. Another reason for the tightness is muscle weakness. Sometimes, the muscles are overworked and are not as strong as they need to be and as a result of increased workload , they become tight.
Why are tight hamstrings are problem?
- Can be more susceptible to muscles strains.
- Can cause low back pain
- Can cause knee pain
- Cause a lack of motion in the hip and/or knee
- Cause pain or limit your ability to sit, stand, walk, bend your knee and/or low back
What can I do about it?
COME TO PT! We can teach you ways to stretch your hamstring as well as strengthen your core and glutes to prevent muscle imbalances that can occur because of tight hamstrings. We can also focus on strengthening your hamstrings to prevent future injuries and correcting mechanics.
