If you are struggling with lower back pain, it is likely that you have tight hamstrings as well. The hamstrings originate at the pelvis, run down the back of your thighs, and attach to your lower leg right behind the knee. How the pelvis is positioned is essential to spine health, and since the hamstrings are strong muscles that attach to the pelvis, they play an important role as well. So when these muscles are too tight they begin to pull on the pelvis, creating a forward bent posture in the lumbar spine. This effect is especially felt when you are exerting yourself physically but deactivating the hamstrings can also contribute to the problems. Unfortunately daily activities such as sitting can have this deactivating effect on these muscles, causing pain and reducing mobility in your back and hips. If this is the case, lower back pain caused by tight hamstrings seems difficult to avoid but there are some things you can do to help prevent it.
One of these things is a series of safe stretches. What some people don’t know is that many common hamstring stretches we learned growing up can actually be dangerous for the back and hamstrings, especially when these muscles are extremely tight or injured. Doing hamstring stretches in an unsafe manner can create micro-tears in the muscle or even lead to lumbar disk injury. A much safer way to stretch is doing it while in a seated on a flat surface. Check out the video on our Facebook page to see a demonstration of a safer way anyone can stretch their hamstrings.
Be sure to not overdo it if you feel excessive pain in your back, hips, or legs. If you think you might be suffering from this problem, over stretching or stretching your muscles the wrong way can cause more harm than good. Not all lower back pain is caused by tight hamstrings, so if you are suffering from lower back pain talking to a chiropractor can help identify the issue. He can make any adjustments in your spine and hips that you may need, and also give you a more personalized regimen of stretches and exercises to help relieve the pain and try to eliminate the problem.
