Few issues are extra cussed in a runner’s physique than tight hamstrings. Stiffness, stress, and ache within the posterior thigh could be painful, stop quick and much working, and even make working depressing.
But, regardless of the hassle runners put into massaging, stretching, and strengthening, hamstring flexibility and ache aid stay elusive for a lot of.
However what if there was a purpose for that cussed stiffness? And what if the important thing to fixing this concern isn’t a key in any respect, however a unique location of the lock itself?
Tightness within the hamstrings may very well come up from tight quadriceps. Photograph: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Background: The Advanced Hamstrings
The most important problem to ache and stiffness within the hamstring is that, in most situations, the reason for the ache isn’t really the hamstrings. Somewhat, the posterior thigh is a set zone of dysfunction from the low again, pelvis, and sciatic nerve, amongst different issues.
Thus, runners with “tight hamstrings” typically have one thing else happening that may trigger ongoing ache, stress, and pressure behind the higher leg.
But, regardless of my capability to determine and deal with international causes of hamstring ache, sustained hamstring mobility remained a troublesome scientific — and private — aim. That’s till I studied the anatomy of the higher leg extra deeply and regarded the myofascial relationships of the whole thigh.
Liberating The Circumferential Thigh
Though I’m approaching 15 years as an orthopedic physiotherapist, this follow continues to blow my thoughts. Each few months, I encounter a strong new therapy principle or technique that radically modifications my strategy to scientific challenges.
Some methods are actually cutting-edge, whereas others are sometimes primary ideas reframed in a manner that’s new to me. This new-to-me technique for hamstring mobility is mind-blowing as a result of it is so simple as it’s potent.
Whereas my inspiration for scientific innovation is commonly borne from a problem with a real-life consumer, generally it additionally comes from a private wrestle. This one is private.
I’ve struggled with ache, extreme stiffness, and slow- and miserable-feeling working for years. A lot of my malaise is because of advanced nerve stress: tight nerves in my legs enhance stress and stiffness, making working sluggish and painful. A lot thought and work with a medical crew — particularly addressing points in my again, neck, and even head — has resulted in important enhancements.
Now, I’m feeling quite a bit higher. My mobility and ache have improved, and I can run farther and sooner with better enjoyment. But, as of some weeks in the past, I used to be nonetheless experiencing hamstring and sciatic nerve stress that was important sufficient to chop brief just a few runs and reinvigorate my frustration.
Then, on a very tight run, I believed again to a dialogue I had with colleagues a few years earlier about how the fascia of the quadriceps — the muscle that lives on the entrance of the thigh — really inserts posteriorly on the femur on the linea aspera.
Like an upholstered kitchen chair, the fascia wraps across the “cushion” of the quads and tucks neatly into the again! The implication is that tensions on the fascial insertion on the again of the thigh may trigger quads stress, weak spot, or ache on the entrance of the thigh.
Then, the “a-ha!” second: What if the other have been additionally true?
The big purple part is all quadriceps, whereas the smaller inexperienced and blue sections are adductors and hamstrings, respectively. Picture: Hermann Braus/Public Area
As you’ll be able to see within the above picture, two realities:
- The quads (purple) are a lot bigger and lateral than most of us notice — and so they wrap round to the again of the femur.
- The quads and adductors (inexperienced) make up about 75% of the overall circumferential space of the thigh!
Then, I thought-about: What if intensive quad stiffness was — by means of fascial interactions — compressing the hamstrings — and sciatic nerve?
As such, it’s fairly doable that fascial tensions (even stress that causes no native ache) within the expansive quad muscle tissues — which cowl two-thirds of the femur — may trigger cussed compression of the hamstrings that no quantity of focal hamstring therapy would enhance.
Traditionally, after a decade of mountain ultrarunning, and extra just lately, after finishing just a few steep, mountainous up-and-down runs, my quadriceps have been very stiff. But, I did practically nothing to handle that quad stiffness as a result of they have been solely mildly symptomatic.
In the case of loosening tight hamstrings, it is perhaps time to deal with the quads. Photograph: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
I reduce brief the run and headed residence. And for the subsequent couple of hours, I extensively:
- Foam-roll massaged my thigh in three dimensions, however particularly, the anterior and lateral thigh and medial thigh
- Stretched my hip flexors, quads, and adductors, however not my hamstrings
The outcomes:
- My toe-touch hamstring flexibility improved
- My running-related hamstring stress enormously improved
These outcomes are in step with comparable findings on the hip: unconventional, non-intuitive “side-door methods” to bettering interior and outer hip joint mobility resulted in substantial features in flexion and extension.
As soon as I appreciated the thigh’s comparable three-dimensional nature and myofascial relationships, I freed all the things round its circumference. Solely then did I achieve important and sustained enchancment in hamstring mobility and working consolation.
Hamstrings Liberation How-To
To enhance hamstring flexibility — in addition to whole-thigh mobility — strive these methods:
Therapeutic massage in Three Dimensions
Mobilize all elements of the thigh. If the hamstrings are tight, it could be that some, or all, of the adjoining tissues across the femur are tight. Foam roll and therapeutic massage not simply the entrance of the thigh however:
- The anterior-lateral thigh, which incorporates the lateral quad and entrance and aspect of the iliotibial (IT) band
- The medial thigh (adductor muscle tissues)
- The posterior-lateral thigh, which is the lateral end-point of the vastus lateralis quad muscle, a muscle so huge that — just like the upholstered kitchen chair — it wraps practically all the best way across the femur
When these areas are labored, then therapeutic massage:
- The posterior thigh, or the realm containing the three hamstring muscle tissues
Mobility within the hamstrings is essential to a snug working stride. Photograph: iRunFar/Eszter Horanyi
Apply Stress Perpendicular to However Not Straight Into the Bone
Most standard therapeutic massage strategies apply compressive stress into the muscle straight on the bone. This can be helpful if the muscle stomach has a density (or “knot.”) However extra typically, entire muscle teams — sure in fascia — are caught to adjoining muscle tissues or the bone itself. It is a mobility idea referred to as “muscle play.”
To free the fascial bundles and the tissue borders between them — identified within the thigh as intermuscular septa — apply stress perpendicular to the femur shaft. That is akin to a “sideways” stress that pushes the muscle considerably away from the bone, not into it. This may wiggle free one muscle or fascial layer from others or from the femur itself.
This may be troublesome to self-apply on the quads, however utilizing a therapeutic massage ball on the lateral quad — the place the ball pushes the outer quad upward, away from the femur — improves fascial mobility higher than compressing the tissue straight into the femur.
Stretch Round The Hamstrings First
Lastly, as soon as these adjoining tissues are freed, stretch them. Mobilizing the hip flexors, quads, and groin (adductors) will lower the stress across the hamstring compartment.
Lastly, Stretch the Hamstrings
As soon as the neighbors are freed, it’s time to handle the hamstrings. They need to be straight massaged with a foam curler or ball, however from as many angles and instructions as doable. As soon as freed, they are going to tolerate — and profit from — direct stretching.
Watch this video for an illustration of the fascial relationships and mobility methods:
Conclusion
To suppose exterior the field is commonly to dive deeper into the field — into the advanced actuality of human anatomy to grasp tissue relationships and leverage that understanding into main enhancements.
The thigh is one more instance of this truth. Enhancing hamstring well being requires bettering its relationships with its neighbors.
Do do that at residence. Work the entire thigh, not simply the nagging spots, to liberate extra mobility — hopefully resulting in much less ache and sooner working.
Name for Feedback
- Do you wrestle with tight hamstrings no matter how a lot you attempt to stretch them?
- Have you ever tried stretching your quads to assist loosen your hamstrings earlier than? Did it work?
