Hamstrings can be very tricky little muscles--they can cause us excruciating pain, yet they are completely vital to the strength and flexibility of our legs. Pulling or hyperextending that muscle can affect our ability to play sports, run, or even walk.
Just the thought of it is enough to frighten any athlete or coach. It can leave even a sports hero out of commission for weeks and months at a time.
So why are so many athletes coming up lame with injuries due to this curious muscle? There are many reasons, some of which can be completely avoidable.
The first has to do with improper conditioning. Many times, hamstring muscles strain because they are just simply too weak to accommodate the demand that is put on them.
When an athlete goes from a jog to a sprint, the majority of muscular effort transitions from the front of thigh over to the back of the thigh, rapidly increasing the stress on these delicate muscles. If sprinting and rapid acceleration and deceleration is not trained prior to competing, your body is not ready for this sudden transitional demand, and will in turn breakdown.
Specific strengthening of the posterior thigh is also often neglected, and in the cases it is done, it is mistakenly done on machines that do not translate strength that can be actually used athletically. Talk to your coach about what you can do to fully prepare for these events.
The next potential problem can come from an imbalance in your muscles themselves. Research has never been able to conclusively show that overly-tight areas will directly lead to injury.
However, it has been shown in many studies that when an imbalance is present from right to left, the propensity for injury can increase by as much as four times. When one area is consistently tight and/or strained, almost always the opposite hip flexor is tight and overactive as well, and must be addressed also to truly make the pain go away.
The next problem that can occur is when there is a weakness in your core. The muscles of the trunk of your body, specifically the lower portion of the abdominals and obliques, are key stabilizers of the pelvis.
When they are weak and fail to do their job, other areas of your body must compensate, leading to poor coordination and overload. This can cause a problem if you are not careful--talk to an athletic trainer to learn how to strengthen this middle area of your body.
So the question remains, how to we repair this painful problem when it occurs. While you may have heard that this problem comes only when you have overly tight areas, this is actually a fabrication.
In fact, this muscle is often overstretched and lax, and continual stretching in that area can in fact make the problem worse. You are better to just keep yourself warmed up before training, then actually sitting down and stretching.
There are also other factors that range from poor hydration to muscular trigger points and foot and ankle disorders, just to name a few. However, there are four basic steps that you can take to prevent this painful injury from continuing to occur when you preform sports.
The first thing to do is to strengthen your legs and core as much as you can. Specific exercises to address the hamstrings, glutes, and lower abdominals, as well as integrated lifts that reinforce proper hip hinging, such as deadlifts, and good mornings.
This will build a strong foundation for the area. The stronger you are, the less likely that a problem will occur.
Next, learn how to engage in a proper progression. This means do not roll out of bed and go all out in a forty yard sprint after taking a few weeks off.
Sprint speed and acceleration needs to be gradually increased from rep to rep and from workout to workout. This will address the transitional balance that was previously mentioned.
Next, if you are going to stretch, work on loosening the hips instead of over-stretching the legs. Focus on increasing your attention on the hip flexors, hip rotators, calves, and lateral hip muscles.
Last but not least, become more unilateral. Most times when your hamstrings pull, it is done when lunging (as with baseball pitchers) or sprinting, which are both one-legged movements.
Performing exercises and drills that build strength and balance on a single leg will dramatically improve function and durability. Talk to an athletic trainer or physical therapist about what specific exercises you can do to accomplish this.
Author Resource:-
Terry Daniels is an accomplished expert in health and fitness. He recommends the besttreadmills you can find in the market.
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