Constantly tight hamstrings?

[Anubis]

Does anyone else suffer from this? I've been to my gp, to chiros, to massage therapists, to physio and I can't seem to get any answers as to why my hamstrings are always tight. They seem to be better to start the day but it doesn't matter if its leg day or any other day by the end of the day they're tight, and it can spread to inner thigh area and just leads to a constant pulling feeling in my hammies. They dont spasm but feel like theyre constantly on the verge. Ive heard from the various experts that it could be lower back tightness, tight hips, scar tissue build up, glute inactivation, muscle imbalance but none of have made it any better but have cost me a lot in therapy sessions. Ive done xrays that showed nothing. Ive tried supplementing with magnesium and other electrolytes in case I was just dehyrated or lacking those and that didn't seem to resolve it. Anybody face anything like this, find any solutions to their own tight hamstrings?

 

[Dens228]

I am pretty flexible and my legs still feel tight unless I'm consistent with foam rolling. It makes a HUGE difference in the way they feel.

 

[superman21]

A couple questions..... Do you have a sedentary job or active? Do you do any ab work?

I have lower back tightness and hamstrings can be pretty tight.

 

[Anubis]

I am pretty flexible and my legs still feel tight unless I'm consistent with foam rolling. It makes a HUGE difference in the way they feel.

Ive never done foam rolling consistently, are there any youtube vids or webpages youd recommend as a good source to get started with to learn to do it correctly?

 

[Anubis]

A couple questions..... Do you have a sedentary job or active? Do you do any ab work?

I have lower back tightness and hamstrings can be pretty tight.

I'm a film editor so while I make it a point to get my ass up and move about, its not uncommon for me to sit for long stretches. I do ab workouts 2x a week and I play tennis which requires a decent amount of core work but I could easily up that to 3-4x a week if itd make a difference.

 

[superman21]

Look up how to stretch the sciatic nerve. I have been doing stretches for that and stretches for my legs and hip flexibility and has helped...the foam roller is awesome!! I have been using one after my workouts at the gym.... But I'm awefully tempted to buy one for at the house. Hope this helps.

 

[superman21]

I can say for me that every day I do cardio my lower back and hamstrings aren't tight. The next day though.... If I'm not doing something to stretch them out then they go back to being tense... I feel your struggle bro... It's freaking annoying! I hope this helps, and if you find something that works better please shoot me a message!

 

[Anubis]

I can say for me that every day I do cardio my lower back and hamstrings aren't tight. The next day though.... If I'm not doing something to stretch them out then they go back to being tense... I feel your struggle bro... It's freaking annoying! I hope this helps, and if you find something that works better please shoot me a message!

I'm the same, the more active I am, the less my hamstrings bother me. If I play tennis, or go for a walk, they feel fine as Im doing the activity and for a short while after but by the end of the night and the next day they do stiffen right up again. I will continue to investigate as this is driving me nuts but I'll incorporate some of the stretches for the sciatica you recommended and look into foam rolling. And see if anyone else has any ideas as well. Will definitely keep in touch if I find out anything.

 

[Laroux76]

Stretch and foam roll your hip flexors, and tfl.

 

[DoWork]

Gotta stretch out that lower back and buttocks

 

[Dens228]

Ive never done foam rolling consistently, are there any youtube vids or webpages youd recommend as a good source to get started with to learn to do it correctly?

Youtube is filled with videos on foam rolling.

 

[Deleted member 121863]

I have been doing cardio 5-6 days a week for last 6 weeks and it has really got my right hamstring tight. I was thinking it was sciatic nerve from muscle tightness squeezing on it. I foam rolled this shit out of my whole right leg, inside and out, glutes... next day it was a whole lot better. Also daily stretching

 

[Ashop]

Does anyone else suffer from this? I've been to my gp, to chiros, to massage therapists, to physio and I can't seem to get any answers as to why my hamstrings are always tight. They seem to be better to start the day but it doesn't matter if its leg day or any other day by the end of the day they're tight, and it can spread to inner thigh area and just leads to a constant pulling feeling in my hammies. They dont spasm but feel like theyre constantly on the verge. Ive heard from the various experts that it could be lower back tightness, tight hips, scar tissue build up, glute inactivation, muscle imbalance but none of have made it any better but have cost me a lot in therapy sessions. Ive done xrays that showed nothing. Ive tried supplementing with magnesium and other electrolytes in case I was just dehyrated or lacking those and that didn't seem to resolve it. Anybody face anything like this, find any solutions to their own tight hamstrings?

Try finding a well qualified massage therapist and have some deep tissue massage done regularly and see if that helps.

 

[muscle96ss]

Does anyone else suffer from this? I've been to my gp, to chiros, to massage therapists, to physio and I can't seem to get any answers as to why my hamstrings are always tight. They seem to be better to start the day but it doesn't matter if its leg day or any other day by the end of the day they're tight, and it can spread to inner thigh area and just leads to a constant pulling feeling in my hammies. They dont spasm but feel like theyre constantly on the verge. Ive heard from the various experts that it could be lower back tightness, tight hips, scar tissue build up, glute inactivation, muscle imbalance but none of have made it any better but have cost me a lot in therapy sessions. Ive done xrays that showed nothing. Ive tried supplementing with magnesium and other electrolytes in case I was just dehyrated or lacking those and that didn't seem to resolve it. Anybody face anything like this, find any solutions to their own tight hamstrings?

My hammies have been like this for years. Now I make it a point to stretch them a million times a day. I am always bending over and touching my toes a couple times every few hours and it has made a huge difference. My life is pretty organized and similar each day, so I have certain routine things that I do at certain times. So for me, I have simply added the stretching into the routine of things I do so I don't forget.

 

[Anubis]

Try finding a well qualified massage therapist and have some deep tissue massage done regularly and see if that helps.

I've tried this but maybe I need to find somebody better, hurt like hell but never resolved anything. I was thinking of flying into LA and seeing Jimmy bluff, I'm that desperate for an expert and his name comes up a lot in bb'ing circles. In the meanwhile couldn't hurt to try and find another therapist.

 

[Anubis]

My hammies have been like this for years. Now I make it a point to stretch them a million times a day. I am always bending over and touching my toes a couple times every few hours and it has made a huge difference. My life is pretty organized and similar each day, so I have certain routine things that I do at certain times. So for me, I have simply added the stretching into the routine of things I do so I don't forget.

I do stretches as I wake and before I go to bed at the moment and when I have any energy left I'll add some post workout but I haven't done much more than that, I'll start incorporating more thru the day see how it goes.

 

[myosaurus]

when certain muscles or joints stiffen up it's usually your body trying to protect itself. If your hamstring muscle is where the symptom is (hams connecting hips to knee), then the problem may be at the joint placed above(lumbar or pelvis) or below(ankle) where the symptom is. find out if there's a weakness/fragility in those areas and it'll yield more permanent solution to your problem.

 

[Giants83]

I had this problem years ago. Mostly from being a non active out of shape bum. I couldn't even touch my feet. Caused all sorts problems. Back pain the main one. Anyway, it took a lot of consistent stretching to make a difference. And not just the hamstrings. I spend a good 30 minutes stretching most days. But the key to this was foam rolling first. The way it was explained to me was that when your muscles are so tight and you start stretching the ends of the muscle end up getting a majority of the stretch. By foam rolling first you are loosening and softening the muscle a bit to get a good, full stretch. It made sense to me because I allowed it to get so bad. It really made a difference. I use to even go to hot yoga with my fiancé or regular yoga. It takes time so be patient and consistent.

 

[milesanderson37]

Stretching calves can help alleviate tightness in your hammies to an extent.

 

[Fa Seeshus]

Stretching calves can help alleviate tightness in your hammies to an extent.

To extend on that it can add also be tightness on the bottom of your feet. If you roll the bottom of the foot on a lacrosse ball the hamstrings sometimes loosen.

Most common issue I see with right hamstring clients is tight hips causing pelvic rotation which pulls the hamstrings tight. YouTube hip flexor foam rolling and psoas stretches.