How to Avoid Hamstring Injuries

Your "hamstrings" are a group of three muscles in the upper back of your thigh. Your hamstring muscles are involved in bending your knee and lifting your leg backward. These muscles are often injured during sporting and exercise related activities. The hamstring muscles can be strained, pulled or torn. Injuring these muscles can put you on the sidelines for a long time. However, with the right approach you can greatly reduce your chances of injuring your hamstring muscles.

Instructions

    • 1

      Warm up. To prevent injuries to the hamstring muscles you need to warm up your body before participating in strenuous activity. If you are going to be running, walk for the first five to six minutes. If you are walking, walk slowly for a few minutes before picking up the pace. Whatever sport you will be playing, mimic the movements you use in that sport such as lunges, sideways movements or jogging, at a gentler speed and intensity than you do when you play. That will help to prepare the muscles for harder work. Warming up the body simply means increasing the body's temperature, which will make your muscles less susceptible to injury. Think of a block of molding clay. It is cold and hard to move when you first take it out, but as you kneed the clay and it warms up, it becomes more pliable. Your muscles work the same way. As the body temperature goes up, the muscles are more responsive to movement.

    • 2

      Stretch. Once your body is warmed up make sure you stretch all of your leg muscles to prevent injuring the hamstrings. It is not recommended to stretch your muscles when they are cold. The best time to really stretch is after you have completed the activity. Never bounce when stretching as that can pull on and injure the muscle. Hold each stretch for a 30-second count. Take deep breaths and on the exhale try to relax into the stretch even more. Stretching is important because tight muscles are more likely to pull or tear if you work them hard. Stretching keeps the muscles limber and less likely to tear during activity.

    • 3

      Try a standing hamstring stretch. Place your right heel on the floor and step your left leg back. If your hamstrings are very tight you can modify by placing your right heel onto a stool or other low object. Bend your left knee and reach your hips back as if you were about to sit in a chair. Place your hands on your left thigh for support. Do not lock your right knee. Sink into the stretch until you feel it in the back top of the right thigh. Hold for a 30-second count. Repeat other side.

    • 4

      Stretch hamstring and calf. Stand with the right foot forward and the left foot back. Bend your right knee but do not let the knee extend out past the toes. Keep your left leg straight, the left heel on the ground and both feet should be pointing straight ahead. Keep your back straight and the shoulders over the hips. Start to lunge forward until you feel a stretch in the back of the left leg. As you lunge do not let the knee extend past the toes. Take a wider stance if you need. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat other side.

    • 5

      Stand up straight and bend your right knee, bringing the right foot toward the buttocks to stretch your quads. If you can, grab your right foot, sock or pant leg. You should feel a stretch in the front top of the right thigh. Hold and repeat other side.

    • 6

      Lie on a bench with a weight between the feet, or on a hamstring curl machine at the gym. Keeping your belly pressed into the bench, tighten your buttock muscles and curl your feet toward the buttocks. Then lower slowly. Do three sets of 8 to 12 repetitions. This exercise should be done three times per week.

    • 7

      Stand up straight with the feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart. For extra resistance hold dumbbells in your hands or a weighted bar on the shoulders. Bend the knees and reach your hips back as if you were about to sit in a chair. Do not let the buttocks drop lower than the knees. Then press into your heels and come back up. Do three sets of 8 to 12 repetitions. This exercise should be done three times per week.