Keeping Your Hamstrings Healthy.
Many of us struggle with our hamstrings—stretch after stretch, those irksome posterior thigh muscles spring back as tense as ever. Even those with flexible hamstrings regularly complain of hamstring discomfort.
We love to simplify and separate, to see each body part in isolation. The reality, however, is not so clear-cut. Every muscle, connects to the muscles beside it, below it, above it, and beneath it. Each exists as part of a complex whole, influencing and influenced by all of the structures around it as well as by those that work in opposition. So if you’ve been stretching your hamstrings to no avail, maybe it’s time to take a look at the bigger picture. Read on for tips.
1. STRETCH WITH A NEUTRAL SPINE.
Give it a try: Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor, with a belt, strap, or towel within reach. Draw your bent right knee into your chest, holding the knee or shin with your hands for a breath or two to release tension in your gluteus maximus.
2. VARY YOUR STRETCHING POSITION.
Give it a try: Lie down with your back flat on the ground, using a strap or belt to hook your right foot, once again focusing the stretch on the belly of your hamstrings. Stop when you feel a gentle stretch, keeping a little slack in the hamstrings so you can play with varied leg and foot positions. Then bend and straighten your right leg, flex and point your foot, or glide your right leg side to side as if sweeping the ceiling with your foot. Take four or five relaxed breaths, moving smoothly and exploring sensation in the hamstrings, before releasing your right leg and switching sides.
3. RELAX WITH REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS.
Give it a try: Lie down through a doorway or against the corner of a wall (or pillar, as pictured below) so that your lower leg is able to relax onto the floor and your lifted leg can lean onto the wall. Get comfortable enough to stay for a few minutes—which may mean creating space between your buttocks and the wall, bending your lifted-leg knee, or placing a cushion under your head.
