3 Exercises to Prevent Hamstring Pain
Have you ever experienced pain in the back of the thigh that just won’t go away? Hamstring pain is one of the most common problems among athletes, especially for those taking part in high-speed running or sports involves a repeated change of direction.
In today’s blog, we will share about 3 exercises to prevent hamstring pain.
What Are The Causes of Hamstring Pain?
One of the most important muscle groups in running is the hamstring muscles. To keep it simple, tendons do not like sudden changes. A sudden change in load through the tendon causes adverse changes to the tendon.
When there is too much load through the tendon that exceeds its ability to recover, the structure of the tendon changes and tendinopathy develop. With a developed hamstring tendinopathy, you will experience a deep, annoying thigh or buttock pain during activities such as hill walking, running and even prolonged sitting.
3 Exercise to Help You Prevent Hamstring Pain
Wall Hamstring Stretch
Lie on the floor with knees bent and hip next to a doorjamb or wall corner. Place the leg nearest the corner on the wall, with the knee bent. Slowly straighten the leg against the wall while keeping hips flat on the floor. Hold for 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times per side, alternating between legs.
Eccentric Hip Extension Hamstring Curl with Sliders
Lie down on back with legs bent at 90 degrees and heels underneath knees. The heels should be on workout sliders. Squeeze gluts, raise hips and now, lower your heels away from body until legs are fully extended. Then, lower your hips back down to the ground and flex your hamstrings to bring your heels back underneath your knees.
Nordic Hamstring Curl
“In 2017, a systemic review has revealed that the Nordic hamstring curl decrease the risk of hamstring injuries by 51 % compared with those who didn’t do it.”
Start by kneeling on both knees and secure ankles under a loaded barbell or have a partner hold your legs. Slowly lower yourself towards the floor while keeping back in a neutral position. Keep lowering forward under control, and then catch with your hands once you can no longer support your own bodyweight. Use hands to push yourself back up and then repeat.
If you would like to find out more about your condition or would like to have a holistic assessment by our physiotherapists, feel free to contact us through our website or Instagram page.
Yap Shi Qi
Rehab Therapist
[wpforms id=”2414″ title=”false” description=”false”]Sources:
- Al Attar WSA;Soomro N;Sinclair PJ;Pappas E;Sanders RH; (n.d.). Effect of injury prevention programs that include the Nordic hamstring exercise on hamstring injury rates in soccer players: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.). Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27752982/.
- DeVries, C. (n.d.). 3 essential hamstring stretches to prevent injury. Sports. Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https://www.sports-health.com/blog/3-essential-hamstring-stretches-prevent-injury.
-
Shane McLean. (2020, November 28). 3 exercises to help prevent hamstring strain. BarBend. Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https://barbend.com/hamstring-strain-exercises/.
-
Pepper, J., About Josie Pepper Josie graduated with a Bachelor of Physiotherapy at Newcastle University. Josie is new to the city, & View all posts by Josie Pepper →. (2021, February 16). Sport & Spinal Physiotherapy. Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https://sportandspinalphysio.com.au/hamstring-tendinopathy/
-
Physiopedia. (n.d.). Proximal hamstring tendinopathy. Physiopedia. Retrieved October 11, 2021, from https://www.physio-pedia.com/Proximal_Hamstring_Tendinopathy.