Do you have a problem with tight hamstrings? If so, it’s probably an issue that plagues you no matter what you do. You could stretch thoroughly before and after a workout but find nothing works. Unfortunately, this is an issue that many people encounter. It can happen for various reasons and even triathletes and runners have the same situation happening. If you are searching for a personal trainer in Raleigh NC that cares about your health goals, keep reading to see why calling CrossFit Invoke should be your top priority!
Common sense tells us that stretching a tight muscle will help loosen it. It should, in theory, become more flexible, right? Sometimes, this is not the case. If you stretch your hamstrings properly and they’re still restricted, it could be a different problem, altogether.
Some people may find that the tightness in their hamstrings is coming directly from sciatic nerve tension. Because this nerve travels through the hamstring and down the calf, it can cause serious tightness in the hamstring that can’t be easily relieved. The sciatic nerve begins in the lower back, flows through the back of the hip, underneath hip muscles, between hamstring muscles and then on into the calf muscle.
This long nerve that can be troublesome for many people. Sometimes, sciatic nerve pain can be significant. A severe compression of the nerve will cause problems from the beginning of the nerve to the end. A slight compression won’t be as severe. It might cause only a bit of irritation. However, any irritation is enough to notice a difference. It can be the direct problem in your hamstring muscle.
Thankfully, there are ways to decide whether or not it is your sciatic nerve that’s causing the problem and not your hamstring muscles. Follow these tips to do a self-assessment.
Doing a series of stretches for hips only each day can help with sciatic nerve pain and stiffness. Hold the stretches for a minute before moving to another. This should help loosen your hamstrings.
A basic straight leg raise, also called SLR, can help you determine whether or not your hamstrings are the problem. As you lift your leg to a 90° angle you should be able to tell exactly where the tension is coming from.
You can also do a second straight leg raise. There should be a decrease in tension and improved angle during the second attempt. If this is the case, you do not have to worry about sciatic nerve. If there are no changes in angle or decrease in tension, it is probably a minor sciatic nerve irritation.
We hope these tips help you with your hamstring problems. To learn more, visit back with our next blog post. We will have several more tips on how you can work with your tight hamstrings to get to the bottom of what’s going on.
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