{"id":1723,"date":"2015-11-08T21:24:48","date_gmt":"2015-11-08T21:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?p=1723"},"modified":"2015-11-08T21:24:48","modified_gmt":"2015-11-08T21:24:48","slug":"the-plague-of-tight-hamstrings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?p=1723","title":{"rendered":"The plague of tight hamstrings"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>Following on from our last post<\/a> (where I discovered how tight my husbands hamstrings are) and a few enquiries this week…. I bring you the plague of most of the men who come to our classes and also quite a few women!<\/p>\n

So what is going on and why does it matter?<\/p>\n

Why do I have tight hamstrings?<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Genetic. Some people are born with tight hamstrings. Generally men have tighter hamstrings than women. Sorry guys. However you can do something about it!<\/li>\n
  2. Too more sport and not enough stretch. It is really, really, really important you stretch properly after sport or any physical activity such as walking and cycling.<\/li>\n
  3. Lower back problems<\/a> and sciatica can cause those muscles to tighten up. Also tight hamstrings can lead to back pain. A bit of a circle there.<\/li>\n
  4. Sitting<\/a>. When your legs are bent, your hamstrings are shortened and flexed. If you have a job where you sit, then you commute to work, seated and then you sit again at home it will add up to a lot of sitting hours!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Problems it can cause:<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Tight hamstrings can pull the pelvis back, causing lower back pain.<\/li>\n
    2. You are more prone to an injury as the muscles are tight and not working at optimal capacity.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      How to help?<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. STRETCH<\/a>. Either standing, lying or using a band.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \"Hamstring<\/a>
        Hamstring Stretch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
          \n
        1. Foam rollering can help release stuck fascia.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          \"photo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Try a sports massage on your legs to help loosen up those muscles.<\/li>\n
          2. Stand up more and move around when you can. Find ways to reduce your sitting hours. Can you have a standing work station or build a walk into your working day? Can you change the way you commute to work or what you do in the evenings? If you do sit a lot then may sure you build some stretching time into your day.<\/li>\n
          3. Try these moves out:\n
              \n
            1. Legs straight up wall with back on the floor – Lie on the floor and maintain this position for 15 minutes. You may notice your pelvis, hips and sacrum realigning and adjusting, too. When the hamstrings lengthen, it reduces the strain on your lower back. Nice.<\/li>\n
            2. Straddle while sitting with back up wall – Sitting up tall with legs wide (The Saw starting position). Try to relax your legs and maintain this position for 5-10 minutes to stretch your adductor (inner thighs) and hamstrings.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Following on from our last post (where I discovered how tight my husbands hamstrings are) and a few enquiries this …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6],"tags":[1036,140,408,420,1034,409,252,287,175,253,153,118,1035,777,406,1033],"class_list":["post-1723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-back-pain-2","category-exercises","tag-foam-roller-and-hamstrings","tag-hamstrings","tag-how-to-stretch-hamstrings","tag-lower-back-pain","tag-moves-for-tight-hamstrings","tag-pilates-and-hamstrings","tag-pilates-bitterne","tag-pilates-bitterne-park","tag-pilates-hampshire","tag-pilates-hedge-end","tag-pilates-southampton","tag-pilates-with-priya","tag-sciatica","tag-sitting-and-hamstrings","tag-tight-hamstrings","tag-tight-hamstrings-in-men"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3FIsx-rN","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1128,"url":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?p=1128","url_meta":{"origin":1723,"position":0},"title":"Stretch those Hamstrings to help your back.","author":"Priya Tew","date":"18 November, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Looking around classes there are a fair few people who look like they have tight hamstrings so here are some tips on how to improve your flexibility in that area. Why? Because tight hamstrings can lead to lower back pain! So get stretching if this applies to you. How to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Back pain"","block_context":{"text":"Back pain","link":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hamstring Stretch","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_2721-224x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1131,"url":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?p=1131","url_meta":{"origin":1723,"position":1},"title":"So I can’t touch my toes.","author":"Priya Tew","date":"15 December, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"One of my recent posts looked at hamstrings, how they may become tight, how to test and how to stretch them back out. Keeping on that theme lets think about where else you may have tight, short muscles that could affect your posture and body functioning. Here is today's test...\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Back pain"","block_context":{"text":"Back pain","link":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"touch toes","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/touch-toes-300x300.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2053,"url":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?p=2053","url_meta":{"origin":1723,"position":2},"title":"Why can’t I do a roll up? PART 2. Hip Flexors and Hamstrings.","author":"Priya Tew","date":"6 December, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The hip flexors include the deep muscle called the Psoas. This runs from the middle of your spine to inside the top of your thigh bone. It helps pull the spine up towards your legs. The other hip flexors are the ones you can feel in the front at then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Core"","block_context":{"text":"Core","link":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?cat=964"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/TpFx3-SBvPk\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":308,"url":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?p=308","url_meta":{"origin":1723,"position":3},"title":"Stretching is great :)","author":"Priya Tew","date":"21 October, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"This week has been my first full week back doing full-on cardio classes at the gym. As many of you will know I don't just teach Pilates... currently I teach 8 Pilates classes and then I have a back to back Step Aerobics followed by Spin session on a Tuesday\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Exercises"","block_context":{"text":"Exercises","link":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?cat=6"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/hamstring-stretch.jpg?fit=500%2C308&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1459,"url":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?p=1459","url_meta":{"origin":1723,"position":4},"title":"It\u2019s not all about strength. Tightness can be a Weakness.","author":"Priya Tew","date":"25 January, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Pilates for me is constantly a challenge. I teach it, but I am also still learning it and I think I always will be. That is one of the reasons I love it so much. If something is too easy, it loses it appeal to me. I\u2019m certainly not uber\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Alignment"","block_context":{"text":"Alignment","link":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?cat=616"},"img":{"alt_text":"Carpel Tunnel Stretch","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/wrist_flexor_stretch_wall.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1889,"url":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?p=1889","url_meta":{"origin":1723,"position":5},"title":"A Man’s Pilates Journey and a Challenge for you.","author":"Priya Tew","date":"14 March, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been a while since my last Blog. I\u00a0am still regularly attending classes, and loving it. ;-) The only week I have missed, was when I was in Spain for a family holiday...the commitment is paying off. I am starting to see the benefits. I look forward to Wednesday evenings.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Back pain"","block_context":{"text":"Back pain","link":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/?cat=4"},"img":{"alt_text":"Hamstring Stretch","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/IMG_2721-224x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1723"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1724,"href":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1723\/revisions\/1724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pilateswithpriya.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}