How To Do Safe Hamstring Stretches For Back Pain Relief
If you’ve ever had back pain you will certainly have been given hamstring stretches to do, or maybe you’ve done them off your own intuition. These are such a common stretch because the hamstrings are nearly always involved in back pain to some degree. Whether there is sciatica type pain spanning the hamstring region, spastic contraction of the hamstring group or just a low level of tightness there, they will have an impact on your lower back.
The reality in many cases is that our hamstrings are too weak, but that is a topic for another video. The tightness affects the lower back because it pulls our pelvis into a pelvic tuck and it also reduces the available flexion at the hip. This means movements of daily living that involve bending or sitting in particular will be limited. Because the hips aren’t able to move as well due to the hamstring tightness, the lower back has to work harder, when it is injured, further aggravating the problem.
When many try to stretch the hamstrings they make the classic error of just trying to stretch everything! Not in a specific manner, they just bend and reach.
This is terrible for the lower back, and not particularly useful for the hamstrings either. Your lower back has no business being involved in a hamstring stretch, let alone if you’ve got issues, such as disc bulges, in the lower lumbar spine.
Hamstring stretches need to be specific.
So in this video we cover 5 variations that you can try, to stretch your hamstrings, without aggravating your lower back!
Remember that stretching is just a small part, we need to be strengthening the back and the legs in general but we hope that this video helps you start to better understand how to do a safe, and effective hamstring stretch. It will inevitably play a role in your rehabilitation journey.
