Feel hamstring stretch behind knee

Hi!

Quick question, is it normal that I feel hamstring stretches behind my knee on only one leg?

Did you do a calf warmup (like 60 Calf Raise) before stretching your hamstrings? Do you have any injury background with the leg where you felt the stretch behind the knee?  On a scale of 1 to 10, what rating would you attribute to the stretch felt?

Hey @Léo Aïtoulha,

I did not do any calf raise, neither any background injury.  I would say a 4-5/10.

I know that when I bend my knee, my hamstring (right) is extremely tight and feels always a bit sore comparing to my left one (not the first time I'm posting about it).  

I'm working on strengthening  my glutes, since I thought it could be an APT problem.  But I'm still wondering if it's not a nerve problem?

4-5/10 is moderate intensity so I do not think that you should be too worried.

A good tip that Coach Sommer gave on this forum a while ago was to do Calf Raises before doing hamstring stretches. It allows to limit the feeling of stretch behind the knees (works great for me).

Only a health professional will be able to precisely diagnose the problem you have. However, in general APT is caused by sitting all day. It leads to tight anterior chain and weak posterior chain. In order to make the APT disappear, you will have to:

• Stretch the tight muscles of the anterior chain: tibialis anterior, quadriceps, hip flexors, abs, shoulder flexors, anterior neck muscles
• Strengthen the weak muscles of the posterior chain: calves, hamstrings, glutes, erector spinae, shoulder extensors, posterior neck muscles

Yep, already started that! But thanks anyway for your help, you suggest some body parts I didn't considered.

Hi @Étienne Lajeunesse

I have a similar problem to you in both legs and have had it for a long time. So long that I thought I'd never be able to touch my toes as it was always painful behind my knee.

I went to see a physio recently who said it was tight or restricted sciatic nerve. It was diagnosed through the slump test which can be found on you tube etc. Really easy to do and pretty clear to see if the problem is nerve related.

The best way I have found to get round the problem it is to bend my knees during all hamstring stretches. In the last month or so since I have used bent leg stretches, it has really helped. Not only does it allow me to properly get at my hamstrings, but it has also relieved some of the tension in a straight legged stretch. Also some myofacial release on hammys before front split seems to ease up the nerves.

Hope this helps!

Thanks @Christopher Hancox!

I don't think it's a nerve problem since the slump test doesn't do anything.

But I was thinking doing it bent leg, so I will try and see where it leads!

I experience something simuliar and mine comes from tightness on the left side of my back that causes the left hamstring to be a little more stubborn. 

Take your time working through your stretches. The body works like a zigzag pattern and one side carries over to the other side. It should work itself out over time.

@Tanya Hill,

Do you work on some daily exercises to improve your back?  

I do have some tightness there too

The lower back like quadratus lomborum and calves can be bith a limiting factor.

4 minutes ago, Alessandro Mainente said:

The lower back like quadratus lomborum and calves can be bith a limiting factor.

I suppose exercises like inverted pike pull are good to stretch the quadratus lomborum?  Other stretch to consider?

Exercises which involve torso lateral flexion ("twisting") strengthen & stretch (depending on the side which flexes/extends) the quadratus lomborum. There are quit a lot of them in the Side Lever progression covered by the Foundation Series.

The later variation of the side lever IM of foundations has really really a lot of stretch and IM to develop the side pancake.

On 8/24/2017 at 11:48 AM, Léo Aïtoulha said:

4-5/10 is moderate intensity so I do not think that you should be too worried.

A good tip that Coach Sommer gave on this forum a while ago was to do Calf Raises before doing hamstring stretches. It allows to limit the feeling of stretch behind the knees (works great for me).

Thanks for sharing that! I hadn't made the connection, but when I do the FS series, I don't tend to feel it behind my knees on a pike (standing or seated), but I had always felt it in the past. I'd just figured the ligaments in my knees needed more help than my hamstrings. I'll stop cursing my way through all those calf raises now. They're not just there for torture!

Hi @Étienne Lajeunesse, 

I’m dealing with something very similar. My left hamstring feels much tighter than right and I feel the difference most significantly when doing exercises based on hip hinge. I also walk and stand with ATP (confirmed by doctor) and do daily routine to sort this out - stretching and strenghtening those part mentioned above.

Seeing that you posted this about 2 months ago, I was wondering if you can see some changes/improvements yet. Can you please share  you experience.

Thanks :-)

6 hours ago, Petra Kmecová said:

Hi @Étienne Lajeunesse, 

I’m dealing with something very similar. My left hamstring feels much tighter than right and I feel the difference most significantly when doing exercises based on hip hinge. I also walk and stand with ATP (confirmed by doctor) and do daily routine to sort this out - stretching and strenghtening those part mentioned above.

Seeing that you posted this about 2 months ago, I was wondering if you can see some changes/improvements yet. Can you please share  you experience.

Thanks :-)

Hi Petra!

Thanks for asking!

I had some improvements during these 2 months and feel less and less this tightness behind the knee.

However, I got assessed for my postured and it looks like I have some imbalances in my hips.  

I don't remember if I mentioned it in the first post but I had chronic stiffness in my right hamstring.  That didn't help for this problem.

So, now it's better, but I still have work to do to fix my imbalances and stretch my legs

Thanks @Étienne Lajeunesse.

I guess we all have to sort out some imbalances ... :-).

It’s nice to hear that you noticed some improvements, I hope I will too.

Have a nice day :-)