Hamstring Stretch

Move · Flexibility & Mobility · Movement, Typed Supps

The classic. Often what you feel is a nerve, not the muscle.

Stage by stage

Set-up (Hip hinge, long spine): The hinge comes from the pelvis rotating over the hip, not from rounding the lower back.
During (Hamstring at length): A broad, dull pulling sensation in the muscle belly is the hamstring lengthening.
Watch for (Sciatic nerve tension): A sharp, linear or tingling sensation down the leg is neural, not muscular, and should not be pushed into.
Weeks later (Range of motion): Tolerance and range improve; lasting structural change comes more from eccentric loading than from stretching.

Muscles trained

Primary: hamstrings
Secondary: calves, lower back

Intensity

2.3 METs (Stretching, mild).

Time to effect

Weeks: Range improves within weeks; structural change in the muscle takes months and responds better to loaded eccentric work.

Common myth

“Tight hamstrings cause lower back pain, so stretch them.” In reality: The association is weak and the direction is unclear — back pain can produce protective hamstring tension as easily as the reverse. Stretching trials for back pain show small, short-lived effects; general activity and loading do better.