Magic Trick for Tight Hamstrings

This past week I discovered a magic trick…Okay not really.  What really happened?  I remembered a few things that I had forgotten, and then once connected these tidbits of information worked as if by magic to release someone’s hamstrings!  It seemed like magic because this person had been doing all the “right” things.  She had been stretching the hamstrings, she had been doing the hamstring release series, and she had been strengthening her body… Yet her hamstrings weren’t budging because we hadn’t put it all together.  Like many things, this magic trick seemed so obvious once it was clear.  Why didn’t I think of it before?  Well, I thought I would point out the pieces of information that connected to develop the hamstring magic trick…Then what I really want to do is ask all of you to try it and see if it really works.  You know another of The Pilates Studio’s forays into uncontrolled pseudo scientific experiments that gather more and more anecdotal information.  That’s what I want!  I look forward to the discussion that occurs at The Pilates Studio this week.  

Or if you are in another place, feel free to post a comment below!

Hamstring Tidbits (Funny none of these tidbits are "about" the hamstrings)

Tidbit #1 – I remember learning once from Elizabeth Larkham.  We were on the trap table at a workshop entitled “The Core has Arms” She talked about the leg spring series and how pressing your hands into the upright poles helps to activate the anterior oblique sling.

Tidbit #2 – I remembered learning about the functional lines from Tom Myers.  These are fascial lines that work together, and in particular I remembered when talking fascial connections that the triceps connect to the serratus anterior which connects to the external obliques, which connect to the internal obliques of the opposite side.

Tidbit #3 – The phrase “Stuck on the Inhale” came to mind.  This idea refers to the efficiency of using the core of the body.  It is much more efficient to find axial length with a strong and efficient core if a person can get all of the air out of the lungs.  Thank you to Tom Myers and Brent Anderson, who have both explained this in completely different ways to me…

Tidbit #4 – The body will recruit global moving muscles to maintain stability if necessary.  And this becomes necessary when the body loses axial length and abdominal strength.  In other words the body uses muscles like the hamstrings and glutes instead of the core of the body.

Wait I thought this post was about loosening the hamstrings…

Okay Try This: 

First don’t think about anything and lift your leg straight into the air.  Ask yourself these questions…

How does the pelvis feel?  How does the hamstring feel?  Where do you feel pain or tightness?

Now with the answers to those questions in mind, Try this:

Lay down on the floor close to the wall.  Place your hands on the wall and push the palms of your hands into the wall, slide your shoulder blades down your back, feel your triceps engage and also feel muscles underneath your shoulder blades engage.  Then exhale all of the air out of your lungs, notice that your ribcage narrows and that your abdominals engage.  Maintain this position and lift your leg again…What happens?  How does it feel?  IS it different?

If the description above is confusing watch the videos below that show the difference.

These videos were shot quickly at The Pilates Studio between classes.  Notice all the chatter of the happy people that love pilates

Task one may look like this:

Notice the popping ribs, and that the thigh bone stops just below the hip.

Here's a video of the next task.  Do you notice a difference?  Now what if you used the breath while stretching the hamstrings? Might life be a little easier in these stretches.?

I can't wait to continue to explore this idea with the clients at The Pilates Studio.  Please feel free to try this and comment below.  The more anecdotal data we can collect the more movement "magic tricks" we can discover.

Katrina Hawley C.M.A, CPT-PMA
Director of Instruction at The Pilates Studio

Do I have the Tightest Hamstrings You’ve ever seen?

I can’t tell you how many times I have been asked, “Do I have the tightest hamstrings you’ve ever seen?”   So first things first, I don’t know, because I have seen a lot of tight hamstrings!  They are often paired with low back pain, and low abdominal tone, but anecdotally over ten years I can say that flexible hamstrings are not as common in the population as inflexible hamstrings.  This is not to say that once in awhile I haven’t seen hamstrings that are so flexible that they are causing other issues…But in general hamstrings are often short and tight!

The tricky thing about tight hamstrings is that if they are not addressed before a pilates lesson or reformer class then a lot of the core strengthening work that is done in a pilates class becomes moot.  Core Strength relies on a multitude of variables and the flexibility of the hamstrings is certainly one of them.   Flexibility in the hamstrings increases mobility in the hip socket, which in turn opens up access to the pelvic floor and abdominals.  Some exercise classes make the Hamstring stretches the throw away warm up or cool down exercise. 

Over the years I have also found that simply stretching the hamstrings doesn’t always do the trick.  It can often decrease symptoms, but to facilitate real change in the body there is more to do than the simple hamstring stretch.  Thus below I have outlined a hamstring release series that addresses some of the body’s imbalances these imbalances may be at the root of tight hamstrings.  As an experiment, get to your next pilates lesson or exercise class a few minutes early so you can do this series before the pilates class starts.  Then notice any differences that you might feel both during and after the class.     

Hamstring Release Series

1.     Hamstring Stretch as a marker. The first step in this series is to try your favorite hamstring stretch.  This may mean lying on the floor putting your foot up on a door jam, or rolling forward into a forward bend.  Whatever stretch you choose, know that you will do it before and after the hamstring release series so that you can feel the improvement. 

2.     Roll out the bottom of your feet on a spikey ball – A golf or tennis ball will work too.  This part of the series is designed to release the plantar fascia.  Often when the hamstring is tight the source of the tightness is in other parts of the fascial line.  You want to put a lot of weight on the ball and roll it from the ball of your foot to your heel.  Imagine pushing the tissue in the bottom of the foot towards your heel.  I read about this trick in Tom Myers’ book Anatomy Trains in the chapter about the superficial back line.

       

3.     Calf Raise series -  This series is designed to strengthen the ankle while increasing its range of motion.  It has three components.  Using a stair step, you will place the balls of your feet on the edge of the step.  Then you will do ten calf raises with straight legs.  Exhale as you rise up on your toes.  Inhale as you release your heels towards the floor.  Next you will bend your knees keeping the balls of your feet on the stair step.  Now we want to isolate the ankle movement so for another ten repetitions you will lift the heels and let them lower towards the floor, but this time you will not let your body move higher in space.  Only the ankles are moving..  The final exercise in the calf raise series is treading.  Continue placing the balls of the feet on the stair step and now let one ankle release to the floor while bending the opposite knee and then switch so that you are alternating the calf stretch from one ankle to the next.




     

4.     Sidelying Leg Lifts – The next two exercises are designed to work on the muscles in the hip that work with the hamstrings.  First you will lie on your side and stretch your legs long beneath you.  Making your body as long as possible. Then you will flex the top foot and reach through your heel.  Now your body is as long as possible and you are reaching through your heel so much that your legs are getting longer too.  Once you are as tall as possible Exhale as you lift the top leg up to hip height, and inhale as you release.   Be sure the leg is in line with the pelvis and not in front of the pelvis.  Repeat this exercise 10-15 times.

5.     Clam Shell – Now we are going to work on external rotation of the femur bone in the hip socket.  Continue lying on your side but now bend your knees.  Continue to line your heels up with your S.I.T.S bones and let your knees be in front of your body.   On the Exhale squeeze your heels together and lift the top knee.  Inhale as you lower your knee.  Exhale as you lift and inhale as you lower.  You want to be sure that you are externally rotating your leg not rotating your spine.  To check put your hand on the side of your hip to be sure that the pelvis is not moving back and forth.  Just the leg is moving.  You want to do a lot of these.  We want the hip muscles to be very tired.

 

6.     Pelvic Rock -  Now lie on your back and begin taking deep breaths into your belly.  On the exhale, I want you to rock your pelvis towards your belly button.  On the inhale, I want you to rock your pelvis towards your tailbone.  The challenge with this exercise is to use your lower abdominals to move your pelvis and not your hamstrings.  When you exhale you will engage your lower abdominals to pull your lumbar spine to the floor as opposed to pressing your feet into the ground to push your lumbar spine to the floor.

 

7.     Finally the Hamstring Stretch – Now here is the test.  Stretch your hamstrings again in the same way that you did at the beginning of this series.  Are they looser?  Do you have more range of motion?  How does your low back feel? 

That is the series, I have been using.  What I want you to do now is take your pilates class and notice if anything feels different.  If you practice pilates at The Pilates Studio, then let me know how it works.  Maybe we can compile some real data on this! 

Katrina Hawley C.M.A, R.S.M.E

Co-Director The Pilates Studio