“ Rebuild YOU, Heal Your Pain Through Correct Movement - For Long Term Results.” - Lisa Maclean

Why You Are Struggling With Your Hamstrings

If my hamstrings feel tight, should I stretch them?

The quick answer is no, you shouldn’t stretch them. A feeling of ‘tight’ hamstrings usually means the hamstrings are weak and need to be strengthened using specific exercises.

What causes the pain?

📢 High Hamstring tendinopathy is an injury at the very top of your hamstring (where the leg meets the buttocks)

📢 Pain occurs local to that area

📢 Pain usually gets worse after activity, especially hill running, deep lunges, sprint training, or after a change in training routine.

📢 Pain can also come on when sitting or driving, and after stretching your hamstrings.

📢 It may be painful first thing in the morning or when ‘warming up’ before exercise, then the pain may disappear and return the day after exercise within 24-48 hour

🎯REMEMBER:

Tendon’s, Ligaments, Fascia and Muscles can become sensitive to exercise when they are overworked, over trained and over stretched

Once the ache settles you will need to Connect and Strength for correct Function and avoid further injuries

What else could be causing my buttock/ upper leg pain?

👉 Pain referred from the lumbar spine

👉 Hip pain

👉 Sacro-iliac joint pain (SIJ)

👉 Sciatic nerve irritation

Hot tips for managing Hamstring Tendon Issues:

🔥Stop stretching your hamstrings! (this increases pain in sensitive tendons)

🔥Trigger point the area and foam Roll for circulation

🔥Avoid other positions that stretch the hamstrings, eg lunges or squats or bending over with the legs straight temporarily, once the tendon pain settles you can build your way back to doing these safely

🔥Take a short period of rest from running or strenuous sports if your pain is higher than 4/10, allow 2-3 weeks, then once irritability settles you can gradually return to your sport

🔥Identify how much activity you can do without causing pain (eg running 2km or walking 4km) and continue at this level before building it up

Check out my RELEASE & RESTORE SYSTEM to gain a better understanding of what muscles actually like to create better mobility and becoming injury free:

https://rebuildprogram.com.au/release-and-restore-your-mobility

HAMSTRING FOAM ROLLING

A Foam Roller Hamstring Roll is a great exercise for releasing tension and tightness in your hamstrings. Similar to a deep tissue massage, this allows the hamstring muscle to be kneaded and pressed into the roller, helping to release small knots and tight areas.

Foam rolling may help relieve your muscle tightness, inflammation, and soreness. It also helps ease muscle pain and increase the joint range of motion, flexibility, and mobility while boosting circulation and lymphatic flow.

Foam rolling can even help with muscle recovery following a tough workout by lessening muscle fatigue and soreness.

Start in a comfortable position with the Foam Roller at the very top of your hamstring and rolling forward and back. Don't go to fast, this will ensure you are going to find the tight spots along the muscle.

The Roller can go all the way down to the top of the back of your knee.

Once you find the muscle knots/ tightness stay on that spot for about 20secs pulsating pressure throughout the area.

HAMSTRING TRIGGER POINT

Hamstring trigger points can be mistaken for Sciatic Pain

Weak glute muscles, can lead to myofascial trigger points forming in the hamstrings and

lumbar erector muscles, including the quadratus lumborum.

Trigger points in hamstrings often occur from improper stretching before and after sports.

It is very important to get the releasing techniques down pat.

That's why Balls and Foam Rollers can be very good for relieving pain and stiffness

when you are at home.

Make sure to sit on a hard surface, sitting on a soft surface won't get any pressure through the tight spots.

Starting from the top of the hamstring and slowly making your way all the way along the femur to the top of your knee. Slightly pulse over the trigger knots to encourage them to break up.

GLUTE FOAM ROLLING

Tight glutes are often the root cause of pain and discomfort in other areas of your body, especially the lower back. Foam rolling your glute muscles allows you to access your piriformis, a muscle located deep within the glutes, which is a great way to indirectly relieve lower back pain.

Foam roll each muscle group for about one minute, making sure not to exceed two minutes on a particular muscle group. As you're foam rolling, make sure the muscle you're targeting is extended and in a stretch. Your pace while foam rolling matters less than making sure you're rolling through the entire muscle.

Foam rolling daily is safe, and for people who exercise regularly, it is probably a good idea

Sitting on the foam roll, you have the option to bend one knee over the other or leave your leg straight if you have knee issues. The idea rolling over the entire glute area and finding where your tight are is. this determines a lot about your pains!

Once you have a better understanding of where the tightness is focus one forward , back and side to side action.

Remember time doesn't matter what does matter is consistency!

GLUTE TRIGGER POINT

Trigger points are tender to the touch and can refer pain to distant parts of the body.

significant relief of symptoms often comes in just minutes, and most acute problems can be eliminated within 2 to 10 days.

Chronic conditions are more complex and often less responsive to treatment. None the less, even some of these problems can be cleared in as little as 6 weeks.

This one may sting a little if your Glutes are holding you back and creating pain!

You dictate the pressure you put on the ball. Another option is standing up against the wall and putting pressure through the trigger points gently and then start working your way to slightly more pressure.

Your options with balls also range in resistance.

Start with a tennis ball then work your way up to harder balls when the trigger point area starts to break up / lessen

If you need help dialling in your prehab, workouts and nutrition so they all work together in one comprehensive plan?

Check out my online one on one coaching program!

I’m a corrective exercise NERD and I want to help you move and feel your best!

(I’m also a control freak so I love getting to tweak things and hold you accountability daily while actually TEACHING you what you need to attain LASTING results.)

1:1 REBUILD Coaching: https://rebuildprogram.com.au/the-rebuild-system

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Now go and make your hamstrings your friend and not the enemy!

Want the full video to the exercises above?

Contact REBUILD, Request the 4 Simple Hamstring release techniques:

https://rebuildprogram.com.au/support

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Feet and the "General Sargant"

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