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Hamstring Mobility

Hamstring Mobility


If you were to look at the hamstring muscles (biceps femoris, semitendinosus, and semimembranosus) of the general population, you would find that the majority of people, especially those who sit with poor posture, have “tight” hamstrings.

Why should you care about hamstring mobility?

“Tight” hamstrings are chronically shortened. Chronically shortened hamstring muscles are problematic for many reasons but in an attempt to keep this post brief, I will discuss only two.


1.    Tight Hamstrings can cause low back pain


The hamstring muscles (with the exception of the short head of the biceps femoris) attach to the ischial tuberosity which is part of the pelvis. Tight hamstrings both result from and subsequently cause a posterior pelvic tilt.  





When the pelvis is chronically pulled into a posterior tilt by tight hamstrings, it cannot properly/smoothly tilt anteriorly in synchrony with the low back. As a result, people with tight hamstrings will often unknowingly compensate for the lack of movement in the pelvis with excessive movement of low back, which puts a lot of strain on the lumbar spine. Additionally, tight hamstrings constantly force the lumbar vertebrae into flexion which increases the compressive forces on the vertebral discs.

1.    Tight Hamstrings can wreak havoc on your knees

Because the hamstring muscles cross both the hip and the knee joints, they act to extend the hip and flex the knee. Without sufficient control over the hamstring range of motion, people will often compensate for tight hamstrings with the quads. Compensation with the quads feeds into a vicious cycle where the quads become stronger and stronger while the hamstrings become weaker and weaker.






This compensation and muscle imbalance puts an enormous strain on the knee and can eventually lead to knee injuries and pain.


How can I work on the mobility of my quads and hip flexors?

Good question. If you want to learn more about taking care of your hamstrings, check out our 15-minutes of Flo where Johnny Rodriguez discusses hamstring mobility and flexibility. 

Hamstring Mobility & Flexibility Video

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