Written by Boroondara Osteopathy
A well-known clinic in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs founded by Dr Katie Willy (Osteopath)
A well-known clinic in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs founded by Dr Katie Willy (Osteopath)
If your hamstrings give you grief then I have the best hamstring stretches for you. It’s one of the most requested exercises I get asked about so I thought I would put together a comprehensive video, a go-to for hammies.
If you are doing stretches like the ones you see me doing here, you CAN do a whole lot better by scrolling down to the video below. The stretch postures below only help one of those muscles, and it’s one of the others that causes the majority of issues in the outer thigh.
If you want more background though keep reading.
The hamstrings are made up of 3 distinct muscles that span the whole back of your thigh.
With those stats it’s not rocket science that you would be better off with our 3 stretches we prescribe to clients!
The 2 semi’s travel down to the inside (medial) part of your knee, and biceps femoris travels the outside (lateral) side of the knee and inserts onto the top of your outer leg bone (fibula).
They are known for bending your knee but their job is MUCH bigger.
There are so many issues that they are blamed for including low back pain, which is why they can be worth loosening up.
If you find though that you have consistently tight hamstrings, that tells you that they are a symptom of something not giving them a chance to stay at an optimal state. This means you want to take a look at WHY they are tight. What joints in your body are not allowing the pelvis and leg to move in such a way that means your hammies are ALWAYS tight.
There will be a background but stretching them the way I have explained below is a good place to start.