My Hamstrings Are Too Tight!

Lots of people tell me how they stretch and stretch but they still have tight and shortened hamstrings. This can cause tightness in the legs and predispose you to back pain as well as muscle pulls in the back and front of your thighs. The hamstring muscles originate in what’s commonly known as your “sit bones,” more technically called the ischial tuberosity. Tight hamstrings will create abnormal pull on the pelvis and can eventually lead to back pain.

Young woman on floor stretching out her leg and hamstrings.

So what to do beyond the traditional stretches if these haven’t worked for you? Contracting and then stretching the muscle will set up a neurological reflex loop that will ultimately allow the muscle to lengthen and relax. This technique is known as PNF, proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. It can be done either assisted or alone.

Let’s assume that you don’t have someone to help you stretch. You will need a chair and a towel. Sit on the chair and raise one leg so that it is parallel with the floor. Take a towel and place it by your ankle while holding the ends in both hands. Pull on the towel until the hamstrings let you know you’ve pulled enough. Do not over-pull, but get enough tension in the muscle.

Depending on your flexibility, your leg may now be off of the chair or still on it. This does not matter. Keeping the tension on your leg by maintaining the tension on the towel, push your leg down into the towel for about 5-10 seconds. Stop pushing, making sure to keep your leg at the same level, take a deep breath in and out, and then use the towel to further stretch the muscle, lifting the leg higher with the towel. Do not over-stretch, be aware of the comfortable end of your range of motion. Keep the leg at this new level and repeat this 2 more times.

It is important to maintain the towel tension on the leg, and while you do want to stretch the muscle, you do not want to over-stretch it. The contraction and then stretching allows the muscle to more fully stretch. This technique is using your nervous system to your advantage and is a great way to loosen up muscles quickly.