General Discussion Triathlon Talk » extreme hamstring tightness - to stretch or not stretch? Rss Feed  
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2014-04-22 9:54 AM

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Subject: extreme hamstring tightness - to stretch or not stretch?
I am constantly tinkering with my setup, because if my elbow pads are as low as I can get without killing my neck, I have to lower my saddle, and if my saddle is high enough so I don't hurt my knees, I have to raise my elbow pads because I cannot reach bottom of the pedal stroke without hamstring pain. In the morning, my fingertips can just barely touch my kneecaps upon bending forward…yeah, its bad.

I have been doing quite a bit of research and its unclear whether one should stretch or not, and very little to no info on people who are as tight as me.

So what do you think?

Stretch or no stretch?

If stretch - how, how much, how often?

If no stretch - what instead?


2014-04-22 10:38 AM
in reply to: DrTriKat


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Subject: RE: extreme hamstring tightness - to stretch or not stretch?
I'd recommend a very light stretch. If there is a tear or any damage than you do want to rest it but you also need to have blood flow to bring oxygen and nutrients to heal what's damaged. For an ankle sprain I bought a blood flow stimulator that felt amazing and worked even better. It stimulated blood to my ankle while I rested, the best of both worlds. If you're interested the link to the one I got is below.

http://www.kingbrand.com/Leg_Pain_Treatment.php?REF=52PV55
2014-04-22 8:00 PM
in reply to: DrTriKat

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Subject: RE: extreme hamstring tightness - to stretch or not stretch?

foam roller/yoga stretch-gentle

2014-04-22 9:41 PM
in reply to: #4985056

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Subject: RE: extreme hamstring tightness - to stretch or not stretch?
Kyle47- not injured, just tight. Tighter than an average male.
2014-04-22 11:24 PM
in reply to: #4985494

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Subject: RE: extreme hamstring tightness - to stretch or not stretch?
Definitely roll out on a foam roller. Stretching can damage cold muscles so only do it after workouts, if at all.
2014-05-27 8:34 AM
in reply to: DrTriKat

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Subject: RE: extreme hamstring tightness - to stretch or not stretch?
Do some walking or very gentle jogging or spinning for at least 20 minutes, and then stretch gently, just to the point of slight discomfort. No extreme stretching and no bouncing. I have chronically tight hamstrings owing to some old injuries and have found it's actually counterproductive to stretch them before exercise, only works after some easy warmup, or after the whole workout.

Foam rolling can also be useful, massage if you can find a good one. Doing nothing isn't good unless it's an actual injury and even easy jogging/riding is painful, as the muscles will actually tighten up with inactivity. Prolonged sitting is even worse.


2014-05-27 9:36 AM
in reply to: DrTriKat

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Subject: RE: extreme hamstring tightness - to stretch or not stretch?

Originally posted by DrTriKat I am constantly tinkering with my setup, because if my elbow pads are as low as I can get without killing my neck, I have to lower my saddle, and if my saddle is high enough so I don't hurt my knees, I have to raise my elbow pads because I cannot reach bottom of the pedal stroke without hamstring pain. In the morning, my fingertips can just barely touch my kneecaps upon bending forward…yeah, its bad. I have been doing quite a bit of research and its unclear whether one should stretch or not, and very little to no info on people who are as tight as me. So what do you think? Stretch or no stretch? If stretch - how, how much, how often? If no stretch - what instead?

This is way late on your thread (and otherwise, which I'll also e-mail you--THANK YOU for the helmet, my boyfriend-now-husband forgot to tell me it had arrived a long time ago!) ...

It's imperative that you get a bike fitting with a solid, well-recommended fitter who's also very strong in anatomy and kinesiology (the good ones are). If you already have, go back and explain the problems you're having--again, a good fitter will make follow-on adjustments.

So in my opinion this isn't a stretching issue; it's an issue of getting you optimally set up on your bike for whatever your conditions (physical, goals, training type/volume, etc.) are.

Also, ignore the naysayers on Slowtwitch. There are actually a lot of really good, knowledgeable respondents there; you just have to have a bigger filter.

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