Hamstring Stretch

by Lavon Watson, LMP, Life Changes Massage in Redmond, WA











The hamstrings are actually a group of three muscles on the back of the upper leg. On the inside are the semitendinosis and semimembrinosus muscles and on the lateral part, or outside, of the leg is the biceps femoris muscle that has an additional attachment along the back of the femur bone.

The hamstrings are a little unique in that they cross two joints, the hip and the knee. This duel action is fairly unusual and means that the hamstrings both help you kick your upper leg back at the hip and bend or flex your knee.

Because we spend so much time sitting, which keeps these muscles in a somewhat shortened position, these muscles are often short and tight, which can contribute to low back pain.

Normal range of motion should be about 90 degrees from your hips, so this stretch is really intended to get you right where you need to be.

Starting Position

All you need is a doorframe, and you're set for this relaxing and easy stretch:

  1. As shown, lie on your back on the floor, initially with your knees bent and a small cushion under your neck.

  2. Bring the leg you want to stretch up along the door frame and rest it as flat along the frame as you can. It's usually best to slide your hips slightly into the doorframe so the frame rests all the way down your leg to your hip.

    You may find at first that you need to start a little ways back from the door frame because your hamstrings are so tight, but the key is to find a position that will let you keep your knee straight once you get into the stretch.

Finishing Position

From the starting position, straighten and gently drop the other leg flat onto the floor as shown. If you need to adjust the location of your hips to feel the stretch, feel free to do so, but try and position yourself so your up-leg is straight and the knee is not bent.

After 20 or 30 seconds, if you feel like the hamstring is relaxing, you can easily intensify the stretch simply by pushing your heel away from your body along the floor and tightening your glutes (butt muscles). I usually only stay in this position for a minute or so and then drop my leg to let it relax before returning to the position for a bit. The second stretch is where I usually feel like something good is happening.

When you're done stretching both sides, always be sure and walk around a bit just to be sure you're evenly stretched out.

For more information or to schedule a Redmond massage appointment,
call me at (425) 861-7334.