"...your blog is truly terrific, I play footy in the US and last season I pulled my hammy 2 - 3 times. After the season I took it real easy and allowed it months to heal and when it was time to start off season lifting/training I could feel a knot almost in my right hammy. I went to see a doctor and got x-rayed but there was no calcification then a physical therapist told me that basically I have overly tight hamstrings and also gave me some stretches and lifts for building flexibility and strength. I has got a lot better but I still feel like there's a knot there when I flex my hammy. Is there any recommendations for exercises for my training to assist in not having a repeat of last year?"
Trevor
The dreaded hamstring is an all to common injury, but one that is avoidable with a bit of postural knowledge.
The first thing to look at are your hips and whether your backside sits higher then your front side. If they do then your stuck in excessive anterior pelvic tilt (APT).
This is caused by tight hip flexors, quads and ITB's and leads to a quad dominant movement pattern so as well loading the hams a lot from lack of glute activation, it puts excessive stress your knees from anterior loading.
Now most people think that there hamstrings are tight but if your are in APT, than your hamstrings are actually stretched from the back of the hips sitting higher then they should be, putting your hamstrings in a constant state of "stretch", which presents as neural tightness.
When your glute activation is non-existent, then your hamstrings are forced to work overtime as they are now doing the jobs of the powerful glute muscles, a job they are not too equipped to do for very long, if at all.
Moving onto the training aspect most players train for hamstrings for knee flexion with leg curl variations which is the hamstrings second function. It's main function is actually hip extension where your leg goes back behind the mid line of the body such as sprinting, kicking and jumping for a mark. The extension of the leg in the action, with simultaneous ankle, knee and hip extension is called triple extension which is detailed in the Aussie Rules Training Off Season Manual.
Triple Extension
So now that we know the benefits of complete hip extension into triple extension, we can now determine which exercises will strengthen the muscles that are weak (glutes) and taking the stress off the hamstrings.
Here's 2 more video's from the Aussie Rules Training Of Season Manual.
Glute Activation
Hip Dominant Movement Pattern Exercises
So now you have the tools to avoid any hamstring troubles if you haven't had them before, and to rehab yourself if you have done them before.
Thanks Trev
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