The hamstring is made up of three muscles: the semitendinosus, semimembranosus and biceps femoris. These muscles are in the back top of your thigh and run down to the back of your knees. The hamstring is prone to injury, and it can be pulled, strained or torn. This type of injury requires a doctor's evaluation, and in cases of a severe pull or tear, you should rest for a period of time before trying to exercise again. If your doctor gives you the OK, there are specific exercises you can do while healing from a hamstring injury.
Hamstring Curls
If your hamstring muscles are weak and the quadriceps muscles (in the top front of the thigh) are strong, you can develop a muscular imbalance, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. This imbalance increases your risk of an injury. You tend to use your quadriceps more when you get up from a chair, climb stairs and lift objects. The hamstring muscles are not used as often, however, and can become weak. Hamstring curls are one of the best exercises to help strengthen this area. You can use a hamstring curl machine in a local gym or home gym setup. With some machines, you lie on your stomach and hook your heels under pads. You then bend your knees and bring your heels and the pads to your buttocks. There are also machines where you sit and rest your heels on the top of the pads, and then press the pads down. Hamstring curls can also be done by standing up, putting ankle weights on and then bringing your heels to your buttocks. Strength-training exercises should be done two to three days per week with a day of rest in between.
Hamstring Stretch
Tight or weak muscles can also be injured more easily. If you play sports that require a lot of jumping, running, starting and stopping, you may move too quickly and pull a tight hamstring muscle. There are a lot of ways to stretch the back of your legs. You can do a typical runner's stretch by standing in a lunge; you can place your leg up on a bench or you can lie down and bring your leg up straight. Flexing the foot and straightening the knee will make the stretch deeper. Make sure you do not bounce the stretch to avoid further injury to the hamstring area. You should try to stretch each day and always before and after any activity.
Bridging
The bridge is a basic exercise that can be done many ways to help tone the hamstring muscle. This exercise has you lie on your back on the floor, then you bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor. You will tighten your abdominal muscles and buttocks, and lift your hips up as high as you can. Instead of placing the feet on the floor, you can rest your knees or feet on top of a bench or stability ball for an extra challenge. In addition, you can keep the feet on the floor, then rest ankle weights on your thighs or squeeze a medicine ball between your knees to add some resistance. Bridging without resistance can be done every day. If you use resistance, take a day of rest in between.
Chair Pulls
The Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma suggests that doing a chair pull exercise can help to strengthen the hamstrings without using weight. You can sit on a chair or stool with wheels, then reach one leg out and pull yourself and the chair or stool forward. Keep going forward alternating legs and travel around the room. Chair pulls can be done every day.
Member Comments