Your hamstrings are a group of three muscles that help form the backs of your thighs. They also help you flex and rotate your knee joint and extend your hip joint. You can develop pain in your hamstring muscles or tendons while running or as the result of a lack of adequate hamstring flexibility.
Hamstring Basics
Your three hamstring muscles are the biceps femoris, semimembranosus and semitendinosus. These muscles originate in your hip joint at the upper end of your femur or in a part of your pelvis called the ischium. They then run through the back of your knee joint and end in the upper portions of the tibia or femur bones in your lower leg. Like all muscles, your hamstrings are attached to your bones by tough lengths of connective tissue called tendons.
Running
Running can produce an overstretching of your hamstring muscles and trigger an injury called a strain, or tear, according to the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. Running-related overstretching in your hamstring tendons can also trigger a form of inflammation called tendinitis. Situations that can lead to a hamstring injury include running downhill at high speed, running on sloped or banked roads and running with your heel bones angling inward to an abnormal degree. You can also develop an injury in your hamstrings if they're weak relative to the quadriceps muscles on the fronts of your thighs.
Limited Flexibility
Lots of people lack sufficient flexibility in their hamstring muscles, the Sports Injury Clinic states. Under normal circumstances, you should be able to lie on your back and raise a straight leg to an angle of 80 to 90 degrees. If you can't raise your leg to at least an 80-degree angle, you probably have tight hamstrings. Potential underlying causes for this condition include genetic predisposition, lower back problems that place unusual pressure on your sciatic nerve and lack of a regular stretching routine before and after sports or exercise. In addition to causing restrictions in your normal flexibility, hamstring tightness can increase your chances of developing a hamstring tear.
Treatment Considerations
Potential treatments for a hamstring strain or hamstring tendinitis include rest for your sore thigh, application of an ice pack and use of anti-inflammatory medications. You can also ease a hamstring strain with gentle stretches for your affected leg. You can increase the flexibility in your hamstrings with a regular stretching routine or with a special type of massage called a sports massage. Consult your doctor for more information on the potential causes of hamstring pain.
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