How do tight hamstrings cause back pain

Typically prevention refers to strengthening rather than stretching. The best exercises for avoiding tight hamstrings include those that strengthen your core muscles and quadriceps. Planks and leg extensions are examples of exercises that will strengthen those muscle groups aiding in the prevention of hamstring tightness.

Stretches that focus on your hamstrings, hip flexors, lower back, and calves will dramatically increase hamstring flexibility and reduce tightness. Foam rolling your hip flexors, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves will help in your stretching routine. This will also promote good blood flow and help to break up the fascia surrounding your muscles allowing them to stretch more completely. Our Portland chiropractic offices are conveniently located in Portland near Gresham.

Why are tight hamstrings bad? How can you tell if you have tight hamstrings? What causes tight hamstrings Aside from genetic reasons, the most common reasons for tight hamstrings include too much sitting , not enough stretching, and sciatic nerve issues. How to prevent and treat tight hamstrings Preventing hamstring tightness is pretty straightforward. Hamstring Stretches Hurdle Hamstring Stretch Start by sitting on the floor with one leg out straight.

Bend your other leg at the knee positioning the sole of your foot against the outstretched leg. Reach forward over your straight leg toward your toes.

Bend at the waist as much as possible, but bending your back is okay if hip mobility is limited. Hold this position for seconds. If this challenging at first, err on the side of a quicker stretch and progress to longer stretches through regular stretching.

Repeat this process with your other leg. Standing Hamstring Stretch Start by standing with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Bending at the waist reach down toward your feet. Keep both your knees straight. Supplemental Stretches Crossed leg standing hamstring stretch. Tension in this spot translates to increased tension and pressure in the low back.

Th e hamstrings pull also forces the pelvic girdle to tilt backwards and negatively af fect spinal alignment. One of the most common hamstring stretches is: reach down and touch your toes. While this can be a great stretch for beginners, there are other, more interesting ways to stretch your hamstrings! Watch the video to see some great hamstring stretches with a little strengthening mixed i n too:. Take time to stretch your muscles.

Maintaining your flexibility can help alleviate the tension in your back. Give these stretching and activation exercises a shot and feel the tension melt away! For more exercises, try downloading our FREE mobile app to take our free assessment that gives you access to our library of exercises for any part of the body. Are you experiencing back pain? Book Now! All Rights Reserved Sitemap. Shop Now. However, simply stretching the hamstrings is not always the solution.

Low back pain may also be coming from the secondary effects tight hamstrings play on the quadratus lumborum muscle. An overworked and over strained quadratus lumborum requires more than hamstring stretching to mitigate symptoms of low back pain.

We must discover why this happens in order to take a multi-directional approach to combat low back pain. This is when a physical therapy evaluation can help!

Depending on your individualized evaluation, we will be able to identify the root cause of your symptoms and get you feeling better faster. If these symptoms relate to your condition, a plan of care should include hamstring stretches, back extensor strengthening exercises, core and lumbopelvic stability exercises and movement pattern retraining. If you are experiencing hamstring tightness with low back pain, below are some exercises that can help get you started.

Sciatic Nerve Glides. This exercise will help improve the neurodynamic mobility of the sciatic nerve to help reduce hamstring and calf tightness.

Loaded Sciatic Nerve Glides. This exercise is a progression of the exercise above to help improve the sciatic nerve and hamstring mobility.