Your hamstrings are leg muscles, and specifically they are the “upper leg” muscles that are right above the knee. We place a lot of tension on our hamstring muscles on a daily basis when we walk, run, or lift heavy objects. Hamstrings are often a part of our exercise routine, so stretching these muscles can be helpful to avoid soreness or injury.
Even though stretching is designed to prevent injuries, there’s still a potential for injuring yourself if you stretch improperly. You’re potentially placing additional stress on other parts of your body such as your neck or spinal cord. Here is a quick overview of why you should keep your neck and back straight while doing a hamstring stretch, along with a few ideas for hamstring stretches that you can do.
Remember that your body operates like a machine. While hamstring stretches are useful, they also come with a slight risk of an injury to your spinal cord. By keeping your back and neck straight, you’re able to reduce these injury risks when stretching. Stretching does place pressure on your spinal cord, and over time this repeated stress to your spinal cord makes injury very likely.
Flat-Back
One common hamstring stretch (Also one of the easiest ways to keep your spinal column straight) is to lie down on your back and lift your leg in the air. You can interlock your hands in order to support your leg.
Using Rollers
Rolling your hamstrings with a foam roller is an easy way to increase the blood flow to these muscles. Foam rolling is like a massage for your legs. It’s not exactly a stretch, but foam rolling has many of the same benefits without putting pressure on your spinal cord.
Standing Stretch
While being careful to keep your neck and back straight, stand on one leg and elevate the other one slightly. This is a fairly easy one to do as you’re able to stand upright while doing it. A standing stretch is a simple and easy one to do.
Stretching is a great way to relieve tension in your muscles. It’s also able to prevent soreness before you exercise. If you stretch before exercise or in your day-to-day life, stretching is a great part of exercise if you do it right!
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