Hamstring Stretches for Runners

The hamstrings consist of three set of muscles. They are biceps femoris, the semitendinosus and the semimembranosus. They are located at the back of the thigh and extends from the hip joint to the knee joint. A hamstring strain can occur due to overstretching of the legs. It is quite a common injury among the runners. It can happen while running on a slopped road or sprinting downhill as the muscle get extended too much in order to maintain the balance of a running stride. It can also occur because of foot imbalance while running. The importance of hamstring stretches for runners lies in the fact that it can prevent injury like a pull or tear and at the same time increase the flexibility of these muscles.

Hamstring Stretches for Flexibility

Here we are going to discuss some easy to do exercises that can be helpful in improving the elasticity of the tight hamstring muscles. Thus, you will be able to run long distances without bothering about muscle pain.

At Your Desk
You can do these stretches sitting in one place. For this exercise a wooden chair is preferable. Sit on the chair comfortably and start stretching the hamstrings of the left leg first. For this, keep the right foot in normal position and bend the left knee. Now lean your body in the forward direction from the hips. Thus you will feel a mild pressure on the left hamstring. Hold the position for a few seconds or count till 10. Then get back to the normal sitting position. Repeat these stretches 5 times for each leg.

Using Equipment
The exercise ball is one of the most popularly used stretching equipment. Lie on your back on the floor and place your heels firmly on the exercise ball. Now lift your hips off the floor. This will put your entire body weight upon the shoulders. You can stretch your hands on the sides for a better support for the shoulders. Then try to bring the feet closer to your body by bending the knees and thus the ball will also move towards you. Then stretch the legs straight so that you can get the initial pose. Repeat the curling and stretching of the knees for five times.

Using a Machine
You can stretch your legs with the help of hamstring stretching machine. It consist of a padded bench with two wings attached to it which are also cushioned with soft pads. The machine stretches the muscles of the inner thigh region by increasing the angular measure between the two legs. You have to sit on the bench and place the legs on the two wings. You have to control manually the angle between the legs as per your requirements. You can let the machine stretch your legs with an intensity with which you are comfortable in.

For Knee Pain
When you are suffering from pulled hamstrings, you are bound to get a bad knee pain. At that time, you can try out these stretches. Sit on the floor comfortably with both the legs stretched at the front. Lean your body forward in order to reach out as far as possible without bending the knees. Hold the stretch for a minute and then slowly return to the original position. Instead of keeping both the legs straight, you can bend the left leg in such a way that the sole of the left foot touches the inner thigh of the right leg. Now bend and try to reach the right foot while keeping the right leg straight. Keep the posture for a minute and then come back to the sitting posture. Repeat the same for the right leg as well.

These are some of the easy hamstring stretches. I would like to advise you that you should do these workouts after a run to get more effective results. While doing these stretches, care should be taken that they are done slowly. Moreover, you should stretch your hamstrings as much as you are comfortable and do not push yourself too hard.