Hamstring Stretches

Written By: Chloe Wilson, BSc(Hons) Physiotherapy
Reviewed by: KPE Medical Review Board

Hamstring stretches are an important part of any workout or rehab programme. Hamstring stretching exercises can help to reduce pain, increase flexibility and improve function.

The reason for this is because having tight hamstrings puts you at risk of knee pain and injury, so having good flexibility is important.

Most people have some tightness in their hamstrings, especially people who spend a lot of their day sitting.

The hamstrings are a group of three muscles that run down the back of the thigh from the pelvis to the knee.  Here are a couple of simple tests you can try at home to see if you have tight hamstrings:

1. Simple: Can you touch your toes whilst keeping your knees straight? If you can't, you probably have tight hamstrings
   
   
2. Pro's Test: Lie on your back and lift your leg up so your hip and knee are bent to 90°. Then try and straighten your knee without moving your hip. The angle at your knee will tell you if you have tight hamstrings - women should be able to get their knee within 20° of fully straight, and men within 30°. If you can’t, it's time to stretch.

• Lie flat on your back
  
  
• Bend the knee on the leg to be stretched and hold the back of your thigh with one hand and the back of your calf with the other
  
  
• Use your hands to pull the leg towards you keeping the knee bent about 20° until you feel a strong stretch in the middle of your thigh (at the back)
  
  
• Hold for 30 secs and repeat 3 times, 2x daily, or before and after exercise
  


• Top Tip: If you can’t reach your leg to pull it, hook a towel around your foot and pull that instead to achieve a good hamstring stretch - as shown in the video

• Lie on your back in or by a doorway
  
  
• Slide the leg to be stretched up the wall until it is just shy of fully straight - you may need to adjust your body position in the doorway to achieve this. Hold for 30 secs
  
  
• Repeat 3 times, 2x daily, or before and after exercise
  
  
• Top Tip: Make sure the rest of your body is comfortable and relaxed

• Sit on the edge of a chair with your good leg bent. Put the leg to be stretched out in front of you with the knee very slightly bent
  
  
• Lean forwards (keeping your back straight and your head up) until you feel a stretch in the back of your thigh. Hold for 30 secs
  
  
• Repeat 3 times, 2x daily, or before and after exercise
  
  
• Top Tip: Remember, when you do hamstring stretches for knee pain, you should feel it in the middle of the thigh rather than behind the knee – bending the leg slightly helps to achieve this
  

• Sit with the leg to be stretched out straight and the other knee bent so you are comfortable
  
  
• Keeping a slight bend in the knee, reach forwards towards your toes until you feel a stretch in the back of your thigh. Hold for 30 seconds
  
  
• Repeat 3 times, 2x daily, or before and after exercise
  
  
• Top Tip: Keep your back in a neutral position

• Sit with a foam roller underneath your target thigh and the other leg bent up, foot in front of the roller. Lean back on your arms keeping a neutral spine
  
  
• Using your arms, roll forwards and backwards so the roller runs from the hip to the thigh
  
  
• Spend 2-3 minutes doing this, 2x daily, or before and after exercise
  
  
• The harder you push down through the roller, the greater the stretch

• Leave one foot on the floor and rest the other foot on the stool with the knee slightly bent (about 15°)
  
  
• Lean forwards and down, keeping your back straight, until you feel a stretch in the middle of the hamstrings. Hold for 30 secs
  
  
• Repeat 3 times, 2x daily, or before and after exercise
  
  
• If you do not feel much of a stretch in your hamstrings, lean slightly to the side of the leg being stretched as well as forwards and you should feel more of a stretch.  You can also try pushing your bottom backwards to increase the stretch