Hamstring injuries can be serious and painful. Football players, runners, cyclists, and gym enthusiasts are likely to eventually encounter an injury like this. The hamstring muscle is on our posterior thigh region and is a requirement to engage in any of the activities mentioned.
There are several hamstring injury exercises which can be used to heal or as a preventative chiropractic measure. Get your hamstrings flexible and strong with any of these hamstring injury exercises:
1. Glute bridge exercises
This hamstring injury exercise begins by lying on your back with your knees bent. Press your heels into the ground and squeeze your glutes, raising your hips towards the ceiling. Hold this position for 2 seconds or longer. You want to do fifteen reps.
This is a simple strength-building exercise which you can control with no weight. Anyone returning to their training following a hamstring injury can give them a test with this one. For added difficulty, you can complete a single-leg glute bridge which utilizes only one leg.
2. Wall hamstring stretch
Stretch your hamstrings any time before, during, or after your workout with minimal stress and nothing more than a wall for help. Lie on the floor with your butt against the wall. Keep a leg on the floor. Raise the other leg against the wall and push your knee straight. Your raised leg and subsequently, the leg on the floor should form a 90-degree angle. Alternate your legs and work your way up to 15 seconds three times per leg.
3. Towel hamstring stretch
This is an easy hamstring stretch, helpful to anyone with lower back pain. Lie on your back, and support your thigh with a towel wrapped midway between the glutes and the knee. Slowly straighten the knee. You should feel a stretch in the back of your thigh. Stretch back so that the bottom of your foot is facing the ceiling. Alternative legs. Hold for 10 seconds to start. Eventually, you’ll want to work your way up to as much as 30 seconds.
4. Deadlifts
Deadlifts are a hamstring essential, working every inch of your leg muscle and engaging every major muscle group in the body. Set your barbell on the floor, above your ankles and in front of you. Get into a shoulder-width stance, grab the barbell, and lift it off the floor. Use your legs and glutes to lift the weight – not your lower back. Stand up straight without overextending and then, lower the bar with control. This is a preventative hamstring injury exercise which will get them prepared for anything.
5. Plate drags
Plate drags can be done lying down with both feet in front of you. Place a heel on the weight and bend your knee while dragging the weight across the floor and up to your butt. When you extend the leg, push the weight back out.
Plate drags aren’t ever going to bulk you up but they can work well as a hamstring injury rehabilitation injury, help with conditioning, and will develop some strength. Any time you’re working out post-injury, you always want to come at it slow and with an appropriate low weight before taking things anywhere higher.
6. Good mornings
Good mornings are a hip exercise which involves bending at the waist however it also will strengthen the hamstrings. Rest a barbell on your upper back and shoulders, and not your shoulders or spine. Keep your head up and straighten your back, bending forward at the hips until you’re parallel to the floor. Go down as far as you can while maintaining control. Then, return to your starting position. At medium weight, this is a great way to work out those hamstrings preventatively.
7. Hamstring raises
Hamstring raises, like a pull-up or push-up, uses your body weight against you. As long as you are on a level surface, you can do hamstring raises. Start by kneeling and brace your feet. Then, put your hands at your ears and slowly let your body fall towards the ground. Control the motion. Throughout this, you’re using your hamstrings, glutes, and core. At the point of failure, drop into a push-up and then carry yourself back into a starting position.
8. Dumbbell donkey kick
Get on all fours, preferably on a yoga mat or something similar. Place a dumbbell at your knee’s crease. Lift your leg into the air, while keeping your right knee bent at 90 degrees, until your body forms a straight line. Reverse the movement as you return to start. Attempt to complete fifteen repetitions of this.
9. Reverse plank
Sit on your mat and place your hands on the ground underneath your shoulders. Stretch your legs out straight while lifting your hips into the air. A straight line should from the feet to the torso. You want to keep your hips raised for three seconds and then lower back to the ground. Complete fifteen repetitions. This movement is very easy to control and is a great hamstring injury exercise you certainly want to keep in your arsenal.
