Hamstring injuries happen. In the athlete population, hamstring injuries are very common. Acute hamstring strains can occur with high-speed running or with excessive hamstring lengthening. Now the athlete population does not have to refer to your top elite athletes, we can link the notion of athlete population to our weekend warriors, gym-goers, even your keen runner. The strongest risk factor for a hamstring strain is a history of a previous hamstring strain (Prior, Guerin & Grimmer, 2009).

#The Function of the Hamstring.

The hamstrings cross and act upon two joints – the hip and the knee – and as such are termed biarticular muscles.

Semitendinosus and semimembranosus extend the hip when the trunk is fixed; they also flex the knee and medially (inwardly) rotate the lower leg when the knee is bent.

The long head of the biceps femoris extends the hip, as when beginning to walk; both short and long heads flex the knee and laterally (outwardly) rotate the lower leg when the knee is bent.

The hamstrings play a crucial role in many daily activities such as walking, running, jumping, and controlling some movement in the gluteus. In walking, they are most important as an antagonist to the quadriceps in the deceleration of knee extension.

What can you do to help yourself?

The Nordic Hamstring curls have been used in multiple studies to help with the rehabilitation of hamstring problems. Chu and Rho (2016), talked about eccentric loading in their research. In the video, I demonstrated the eccentric loading of the hamstrings. I have scaled them 1-3 to give you options in which you may choose to use.

Another post you might want to read

This is not medical advice, and if pain carries on go see your local practitioner.

If you want more information or another post, comment below.

References list.

Chu, S, K., & Rho, M, E. (2016). Hamstring Injuries in the Athlete: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Return to Play. Current Sports Medicine Reports. 15(3), 184–190. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5003616/

Prior, M., Guerin, M., & Grimmer, K (2009). An Evidence-Based Approach to Hamstring Strain Injury

A Systematic Review of the Literature. Sports Health. 1(2), 154–164. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3445075/