The flexibility in my posterior legs sucks. It always has, as long as I can remember, though I never really made a long-term effort to improve.
You know how they say that you should never stretch until you hurt, just until feel a gentle pulling sensation? Well, uh, yeah. If I obeyed that rule, I wouldn’t be able to stretch my hamstrings at all, because the slightest stretch in that direction hurts like hell–not really a muscles - are - stretching - too - far pain, more of an achey pain. Depending on how straight my knees are, I either feel it in my hamstrings or at the back of my knee. I usually try to push despite the pain until I do feel a stretch.
I typically do two different stretches. I stand with my feet together and bend at the waist and reach for my toes. (I can touch my toes, but usually just reach until I feel a good stretch.) Then I put my heel up on something (a step or a chair) and bend over my leg, then switch legs. (Depending on how I have the opposite foot angled, I feel the stretch in different places. I try to keep the off foot pointed straight ahead.) I hold each stetch about 30 seconds (six slow breaths).
I thought the situation would improve with effort, but it hasn’t. I have been walking for about a month and a half now, stretching ~5 minutes (not all hamstring stretches, of course) after warming up and after cooling down. I stretch quite faithfully every time. I feel that I have made no progress whatsoever with this flexibility problem.
I feel like there are really two very different issues: one is stretching my hamstring muscles, and the other is addressing whatever is causing this extremely uncomfortable achey pain.
Can anyone recommend something more to do? Should I be doing different kinds of stretches? Hold each stretch longer? Repeat the stretches several times? Do stretches many times a day, not just when I exercise?
I spent some months seeing a really good physio about my short hamstrings as we wondered if these could be at least part of the cause of the back pain I was suffering. It would take a good while to try to explain the exercises involved (and I suspect it would not be advisable to embark on these exercises unless advised and supervised by a medical professional), they were however very very intense, sometimes a little uncomfortable but extremely effective. Each session would last approximately tenty minutes and would allow me to reach a good three to four inches further towards my toes. I did not however find that these led to any permanent increase in the length of my hamstrings…within an hour they were back to normal and there didn’t appear to be any cumulative effect.
Just my experience.
See a good physiotherapist. They can work wonders.
I’m not a physical therapist, but I can tell you the stretches my PT showed me. I noticed that you’re doing the kind of stretches that put your weight on the stretched muscle. You’re making it stretch and work at the same time. Try it this way: Lie on your back, with your knees bent. Raise and straighten one leg, so that your knee straightens before the hamstring starts to tighten. Raise the straight leg as high as you comfortably can, and hold for 5 seconds. Repeat 14 more times, then do the other leg. By about the 10th rep, you’ll be able to go a little higher than the first one. Don’t bounce.
Do that twice a day for a couple of weeks, and you probably will see some improvement. It won’t be a quick thing, and you might never be able to put your sole on the top of your head.
I have the same problem with that pain behind the knee. I cant even come close to touching my toes- about a foot away. Also when i try to touch my toes, i dont feel the hamstring stretch AT ALL, its just that ripping pain behind the knee (almost feel like im stretching the calf muscle) anyone know what that is??