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Hamstrings

Important structures in the back of the thigh are the three hamstring muscles- the semimembranosus, the semitendonosis, and the biceps femoris.

How To Use This Site:

Below are the 5 parts of the self treatment system including self muscle massage, mobilization techniques, stretching, kinesiology taping and strengthening. Before you get to those, here are some posts to help you put all of the pieces together.

Part One - how to determine which massage, mobilization and stretching techniques you should use.

  1. Muscles Sprains/Strains
  2. Tendon Injuries (specific tendon location info for the lower body here)
  3. Muscle Spasms, Knots, Trigger Points
  4. Overuse Injuries (specific guidance for overuse injuries in the lower body here including normal range of motion + muscle pairs)

Part Two- adding kinesiology taping into your self treatment. Advice for each of the four injury types listed above.


Self Treatment System

Part 1. Self Muscle Massage.

1) Blog post with anatomy review, video and picture demonstration of self muscle release techniques for the hamstrings using a foam roller and tennis ball.  Click here.

Part 2. Mobilizations

1) Blog post on tendon mobilizations for the hamstrings using a tennis ball. Click here.

Part 3. Stretching.

1) Blog post on beginner and advanced stretches for the hamstrings/back of the thigh. Click here.

2) Standing 3 way hamstring stretch. Click here. (note: this is part of a two part series on runners knee; scroll down to the stretches)

3) Three way hamstring stretch with strap (pictures and video). Click here. (this is part of a series on IT Band syndrome. Scroll down to video and pics)

Part 4. Kinesiology Taping.

1) Taping application to decrease pain and swelling. Click here.

2) Taping application to protect the hamstring muscle from being overstretched to allow for healing. Click here.

3) Taping application for the pes anserine common insertion point (inside of the knee where the hamstrings/adductors joint together). Click here.

Part 5. Strengthening. Coming soon.

Specific Injuries

No information available for this region. Yet. :)