We see a lot of clients with chronic hamstring pain. They have tried PT, chiropractic, core strengthening, but they’re not finding permanent relief for their hamstring pain.
Often, the pain starts with an actual hamstring injury. However, the chronic continued hamstring pain might not be coming from the hamstring itself. Instead, the hamstring might be compensating because another part of the musculoskeletal system isn’t working properly.
The hamstrings are attached to the pelvic bones. This means all of the musculature of the pelvis – including the front and back of the pelvis, the inside and outside of the legs, the sacroiliac joint and the low back – can play a role in the chronic irritation of the hamstring.
If you have low back issues, it might have caused your glutes to overcompensate or overwork. This can cause trigger points to develop and depending on the location, trigger points can cause you to feel pain elsewhere – even in the hamstring area.
There can be many different factors that cause the glutes to overwork. There are a lot of muscles in the front of the pelvis, including the groin, hip flexors, inner thigh and the lower part of the abdomen. If any of those muscles are imbalanced, then your hamstrings or glutes might be compensating for whatever activity you’re doing – whether it’s high-impact sports or just walking up the stairs.
The problem could also be coming from underneath the gluteal muscle. There are muscles in the pelvic floor that can refer pain to the hamstring. The sciatic nerve also runs through here and can cause hamstring pain as well.
If you’re having chronic hamstring pain, many times the whole body can be involved in the pain, which is why it’s important to treat the whole body.
We recommend seeing a skilled physical therapy who understands how the whole body is connected. At Rebalance, we first focus on releasing the soft tissue, which means decreasing the spasming. Once that has improved, we work on the joints that might be restricted. Finally, we train these muscles and coordinate them all together to get them all synchronized properly so they perform well.
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