Hamstrings Stretching Challenge…How to Measure and Stretch!–The Most Comprehensive Guide to Hamstrings Stretching On The Internet!

The Challenge: Stretch your hamstrings daily for at least 3 minutes (1:30 each leg using one or more of the stretches below). Measure and chart your progress. Challenge one (or more) of your friends to do the same! Simple.

Why Stretch? The main reason I have my patients stretch their hamstrings is because tight hamstrings can pull on the pelvis and cause poor posture and back pain. We don’t fully get rid of or prevent the back pain from returning until we lengthen the muscles in the back of the leg.

In addition to improving posture and decreasing back pain and the risk of back pain returning, other reasons for stretching are to:

• Gain freedom of movement
• Run faster, jump further, perform better (for the sporty type–runners anyone?)
• Feel better
• Decrease risk of heart disease and stroke (recent studies have demonstrated that while stretching muscles we also keep the arteries more supple)
• Console yourself for not making it to the Olympics…See some of my reasons here.
• Touch the floor…’cause all the cool kids can touch the floor!

Below you will find what I affectionately call “The Most Comprehensive Guide to Stretching Your Hamstrings on the Internet.” (If you hate to read, just scroll down and click on the 3 videos below and I’ll walk you through the process. There is overlap, but it’s best to read and watch.)

There is A TON of information here…really, this is the longest blog that I’ve ever written. Don’t get hung up on it. The three videos total about 21 minutes of information and demonstrations and I’ve put 26 pictures and more information in here as well. I recommend that you watch the videos, then bookmark this page so you can refer back to it as you go along. (Then of course share it with someone who needs a little direction!) Once you know the exercises referring back to the pictures is really easy.

I pulled the pictures right off of the videos so finding the videos is like finding a needle in a haystack. The videos have a white triangle in the middle and a “youtube” label in the bottom right corner. I recommend watching the first one with the CC/subtitles on because I made a few mistakes and added some information in there to clear up confusion.

Stretching is inherently simple–pull the ends of the muscles away from each other like a rubber band, but sticking with it is not easy…and there are many reasons to do one stretch versus another. I’ll try to walk you through the rationale for each stretch so you can find what works best.

The goal is to find a stretch that works for you. Even the best exercise only works when you do it!

Step 1. Test

Here’s a video of how to test your hamstrings length:

Test Method 1: The Standing Forward Bend

Bend forward with your legs straight and see how many inches your finger tips are away from the floor. I recommend using a ruler. Some people may need a yard stick (if this is you, the good news is that you’ll make progress much faster than the rest of us!)

This measures your hamstrings length and the ability of your back to flex forward. 10 years ago in therapy school I could touch the floor but got most of the motion from my back. There was another student that could not bend her back at all, but she could touch the floor because her hamstrings allowed her pelvis to tip forward so well. She was great at yoga…I was not. We both “passed” this test, but we both had a tightness we should have worked on.

Bend forward and measure the number of inches your finger tips are from the floor (to the nearest 1/4 inch). This is the quick and non-technical way, but it has a drawback as stated above. You may not care about this drawback. If so, stick with this one, record your inches and snap a picture of yourself to share with us…try not to reminisce too much about this essentially being a standing “sit and reach test” that you may have hated (or loved) doing in school. Move on to the stretches.

If you can touch the floor, great! Record if you touch your finger tips, knuckles, fists, or palms (and keep up the great work!).

Test Method 2: The Supine Knee Extension

This is the “true” indirect measure of hamstrings length…meaning there is no back involvement here, but it measures the angle of the knee and not the actual length of the hamstrings….So we get an idea of how long the hamstrings are based on how far the knee can move.

Lie down on your back and make sure your back stays flat on the floor and your opposite leg stays straight. With your knee bent and your ankle relaxed, bend your hip until your thigh is pointing straight up to the ceiling. Hold your thigh with your hands (keep your back flat, leg straight and ankle relaxed) in this position and extend your knee up toward the ceiling as far as you can. Have your camera snap a selfie (or have a friend take a picture).

You can also take a paper and have a friend measure the angle the knee makes when you have it as straight as you can get it. You’ll know you are making progress as your knee gets straighter and the angle becomes more obtuse (welcome back to math class!). Take a new picture each week or draw the new angle on your same paper in a different color.

Step 2: Stretch

Hold a stretch at least 30 seconds, bend for 2-3 seconds, then stretch again. Complete a minimum of 3 stretches on each leg. Try one of the nerve glides, gently. Repeat daily.

The hamstrings attach below the knee and up to the butt bone. To stretch the hamstrings you need to simply straighten the knee and bend the hip essentially moving your butt bone and the top of your calf away from each other.

You should feel the stretch in the back of the thigh (it feels like a gentle to moderate ache and should not cause any sharp pains anywhere). If you do not feel anything we need to adjust your position or bend further. If you feel sharp pains anywhere give me a call or email (or try our chat function on this website) or contact your doctor to see what may be the problem.

Below I will demonstrate several stretching methods to accomplish a solid hamstrings stretch and give you reasons why one might be better or worse than another. But don’t over complicate things. Listen to your body and feel the stretch.

Here is a video to show you how to stretch and “floss” (glide the nerves in the butt and leg):

First I want you to feel a calf stretch and a hamstring stretch and learn the difference in sensation between a muscle stretch and a nerve stretch.

To stretch the calf, sit or lie down and pull your feet up towards your head with your muscles, a belt, scarf, strap or band. Feel the pull in the back of the calf between the back of the knee and your ankle. (one of the calf muscle attaches just above the knee, so you may feel a little stretch up there).

Now lie down and bend one leg up so your knee points at the ceiling and your thigh is perpendicular to the floor. Hold the thigh steady and extend the knee (like the test position above). You will feel a stretch in the hamstrings muscles in the back of the thigh down to the knee. These are muscle stretches and generally are very tolerable.

Now, bring your leg down next to the other one. Straighten it out first and then bring your leg up toward the ceiling. When you feel some tension in the back of the leg stop, hold the leg there and VERY gently pull your foot up like the calf stretch above. Notice that your foot doesn’t move nearly as far and the tension in the back of the leg is much more irritating.

This is a nerve stretch. Be careful. You don’t want to pull too hard. We will stretch and glide the nerve and it will grow longer, but always be very gentle with nerve stretches.

If this is very uncomfortable or there is a very large difference in motion between your right and left leg you probably had a back injury that caused the nerve to get “stuck” with scar tissue or impingement. The nerve glides will be wonderful for you and help this to finally free up (many patients have been told they have tight hamstrings when really it is a tight or stuck nerve that is to blame. This can keep people stuck with back pain for years!). You may also consider coming in to the clinic if you have tightness with this and back pain. You may need more help and direction.

Now notice the difference in feeling between the nerve stretch and the hamstring stretch. As you try some of the following stretches you may notice this change in intensity. Always be careful and gentle when you feel this intense stretch!

Nerve Glides, “Flossing”:

We want to glide the nerve to help it free up where ever it may be stuck (back, butt, leg). Essentially you are going to get a gentle stretch and then “pump” the ankle or knee by moving it through the available range of motion (don’t force it) to increase the intensity and decrease the intensity of the stretch. We repeat this motion at different angles.

Here is a low ankle pump glide (be gentle):

Notice that I cannot move my ankle as far as I could when the leg was flat.

Here is a high ankle pump glide (always gentle):

You may feel a nerve stretch in the back of the thigh/knee/calf when you pump up, and in the shin when you pump down. Always be very gentle!

Here is a knee glide, you can do this at various angles of thigh flexion as well.

Stretches: 

Hold at least 30 seconds on each stretch and try to get a little further with each one. You get the most gain in the first 3-5 stretches, so try stretching a couple times each day for 3-5 stretches only rather than stretching 5-10 times. Also, stretching more often is better than stretching “harder”. Don’t hurt yourself. Trust that you will get gains through consistency rather than a “no pain, no gain” attitude which may actually hurt you and cause more tightness!

Supine (lying on your back) Stretches:

Hamstring stretch in the “test” position. This is a great way to stretch. This time try the stretch with the thigh straight up and with the hip bent more and less than straight up.

Using a belt, scarf (that’s what I use at home), band or strap hold your leg straight and your foot flat. This one is pretty intense as we get the nerve in there too. You can also pump/glide/floss from the ankle in this position quite well. Go easy with it.

Sitting Stretches: 

Here’s a good one in sitting. Bend forward and once you can reach your toes you can get a good foot and ankle stretch as well. I like to do this one when I read a book.

Here’s another video with more stretches:

As we move to sitting and standing hamstring stretches, it is important to note that if you have a disc herniation you need to be especially careful when you stretch in the mornings as the discs are more buoyant and the nucleus of the disc is more hydrated.

This is generally a good thing, but if you are prone to disc bulges, you will be more likely to re-injure yourself in the mornings as there is “more jelly in your disc doughnut” so there is more material that can push backwards and bulge out. So be careful that you don’t strain too much and that you keep your back straight or arched instead of forward flexed. You may also choose to stretch later in the day and/or do the stretches while lying flat.

If you have more than 50 candles on your birthday cake, this is not likely to be a problem for you. You may find that the stretches where you can bend forward in the low back actually help to bring some relief for your back pain and you don’t have to strain your hands holding your thigh or strap. Frequently this sitting stretch is preferable.

Careful not to slide off the seat, but you do want to be near the front edge of your chair so your leg can get straight. My “Boomer” patients tend to like this one because gravity helps you get forward, but you don’t have to worry about falling over.

For those worried about disc herniation or back pain with forward bending, you’ll want to stay up tall like this.

It should be noted at this point that it isn’t necessary to reach with your arms while stretching! If you want to lean on your thigh or knee that will reduce the pressure on your back as well. Remember that the stretch comes from straightening your knee while forward bending at the hip.

Freeing up your hands can help you multi task. I sometimes read or study Spanish on my phone while stretching in this manner. It is quite comfortable. You can also get a good nerve glide by pumping the ankle on this one.

Standing Stretches:

This is a stretch in that initial “testing” position (remember that one from way up at the top of this post?).  The bonus here is that gravity is on your side and you can stretch both legs at once. The downside is some people get dizzy being upside down and it puts a bit of pressure on your low back (for those with disc herniations this might not be the winner, but it’s great for degenerating discs!)

You can modify the standing forward bend stretch by moving the legs apart. Then try stretching down the middle and to each side.

If you bend around to the side of the leg, you’ll get more inner thigh stretch as well. This is a modified “triangle pose” for yoga enthusiasts (bet you can’t figure out why they call this the “triangle pose”…very original name!)

To do a true triangle pose you point the toe out, ground your bottom hand and point your top arm and face to the sky. This takes much more balance, but is kind of fun. I suggest you try it once you can comfortably touch the ground. Just look up “triangle pose” and you’ll easily figure it out. I believe in you!

Here is a great standing stretch. Put your foot up on a stair, stool or chair (I often use the toilet–lid closed, obviously–and do this one while I brush my teeth if I have forgotten to stretch all day…I hope I never fall over I wouldn’t want to explain that one to my doctor!). Prop one hand on the counter or a chair for balance if you need to, remember, you don’t need to reach down to get the benefits of the stretch, just bend forward. Ankle pumping / nerve gliding is again recommended.

Dynamic stretching: 

I think you’ll like this one. Don’t try it unless you have decent balance and flexibility. In other words, I would start with the others, but it’s a good one to try to mix things up later on. Spread your feet apart, and crouch down and grab your ankles.

Then slowly extend one leg and shift your weight over the opposite leg. You’ll get a fantastic hamstring and inner thigh stretch as well as some gentle toning of the other thigh.

…And of course try it over to the other side as well. Be careful to control the knee that your weight is over. Don’t let it flare out or in. Keep it mostly over your foot. I probably should have had my feet a little further apart here.

Now here’s one last stretch lying down that I really love because you can get pretty intense without much effort. Gentle pumping of the ankle or sliding a socked foot up and down the wall for knee bends is encouraged.

After all the stretching I did to shoot the videos I was able to reach a couple inches further at the end. Progress already! Here I can touch my knuckles to the floor. At the beginning I could barely touch my finger tips.

So stretch every day for at least 3 minutes. I will limit myself to 3 minutes only, just to show you what can be done with so little time and effort. Be sure and share your progress here or on our Facebook page here.

Happy stretching. I can’t wait to see your progress!