# What does a hamstring stretch feel like (for me)?



## MeditativeRider (Feb 5, 2019)

I would say you have tightness somewhere, and to feel it in your knee and back is somewhat expected as it is all connected. If that tightness is in your hamstring or in something else that is connected is not clear, and if it affects your functional movement is not clear. Regarding transferred pain, that is very common. I get a really sore lower back at night but it is all from muscles in my legs and glutes rather than my back.

Regarding functional movement, you don't want to just be super flexible and be able to bend all over the place. There are some girls in my daughter's ballet who are hypermobile and it actually creates more issues than being an advantage (over being more inflexible). What you want is mobility, which is functional strength with range of movement. So you are aiming to be both flexible and strong for your body and its unique setup. Where ever you can get to in your end range, you want the muscle strength to be able to do functional movements at that point. If you are super flexible, you might get to a more extreme range but then not be able to do anything at that point because you don't have the strength. Conversely, if you are too strong and not flexible at all, you might be able to have do a lot of functional movement but only over a very tiny range (so in effect, it is not actually very functional). Does that make sense at all?

If you want to explore at home, here are some resources I use for mobility. Some of them are free, some you have to pay for but they are relatively inexpensive. Linking the ones that are hamstring specific.

Tom Merrick (on Youtube for free but also has some paid resources I have not tried):


https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=tom+merrick+hamstring



Upright Health (on Youtube for free, also have some paid resources that I love but they are more for hip and shoulder strength and mobility):


https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=upright+health+hamstring



Ask Dr Jo (on Youtube for free):


https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=ask+dr+jo+hamstring



Front Splits Fast (inexpensive):





Front Splits Fast – Flexibility Program – The Ballet Blog







www.theballetblog.com





Now the Front Splits Fast has a terrible name; it is not just about achieving front splits and it is not just for ballerinas. It is also very outdated in the filming/video quality. But it has a ton of helpful information in it for hamstring strength and mobility, and it has some unique approaches in it that I have not seen elsewhere. When I do it regularly with my daughter, it really helps.

Beyond that, if you are super into finding out, you could go to a physiotherapist and get a muscle balance assessment. My husband just had one during a bike fit and it was very helpful and interesting. My daughter has also had pretty comprehensive lower body muscle balance assessments at the podiatrist.


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## MeditativeRider (Feb 5, 2019)

Also, whatever is a functional amount of mobility for you is going to be very different to what is a functional amount of mobility for say a ballet dancer. If it does not bother you in terms of pain (either during your everyday movement or referred pain like I get in my back at night) or stop you from achieving the movements you need to ride and go about your everyday life, then it is probably not something you need to devote a lot of time to working on. 

It is just something I personally find very interesting because I think that whole field of knowledge has changed a lot in recent years, and I am always interested in finding out my own limits.


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## livelovelaughride (Sep 13, 2011)

Hi, the hamstrings have their attachment below the knee. I am thinking your tendon-muscle attachment to the bone is what you are feeling, as opposed to the muscle belly itself. The hamstrings themselves could also be tight.. The reason you can bend over and stretch in certain positions relates to how your pelvis is able to tilt forward. There is a working relationship between that and your flexibility if you think about it, the upper attachment of the hams goes to your ischial tuberosity (the seat bones). Ppl who are super tight in the hamstrings can't bend forward easily if their muscle' attachments to the seat bones pulls their pelvis backward (tilt) ...thereby causing lower back strain because that area has to give. I would try a foam roller along the entire length of the muscles, especially after a hot bath or exercise, when the tone is softer. One of the most effective ways to safely and quickly increase flexibility is to try contract-relax types of stretching. One I like is PNF short for proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. Its easy to do and effective, can be done solo or with a partner. There will be you tube videos on the technique.

In my past life I was a fitness/personal trainer with a passion for anatomy and movement. Apart from PNF, typical flexibility training results comes best from holding stretches below your pain threshold, between 1-3 minutes. This allows for plastic remodelling, or lengthening of the soft tissues. But don't go into pain!


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