Hamstrings Feeling Super Tight? 6 Stretches For Happier Hammies + Tips And Warnings

A tight hamstring can elicit a variety of sounds—and none of them are good. From groans, to moans, to all-out “Owww’s,” needless to say hamstring tightness is pretty painful. 

But aside from a wince-inducing sensation, what exactly is hamstring tightness? And more importantly, what can you do about it? Here, we take a look at this common phenomenon that can affect pretty much everyone—from runners to HIIT enthusiasts to yoga devotees and even folks who aren’t all that active. We’ll explain what’s going on in your body when you experience hamstring tightness and give six simple stretches you can do to feel better ASAP.

Let’s start with a quick anatomy lesson: Your hamstrings are a group of three muscles that run along the backside of your legs, attaching at the top of your hip and just below your knee.

When you work your hamstrings to the point of fatigue, your body can register it as tightness, even though your muscle isn’t literally tight. Muscles also like movement, so when they're stationary for too long, they can express that immobility as tightness, explains Ryan Balmes, PT, DPT, board-certified clinical specialist in orthopedics and sports physical therapy. 

You can do any of these stretches at really any point during the work day. Say your hammies are starting to hurt after a morning spent seated at your desk—taking a few minutes to stop and stretch can help you tackle the rest of your day feeling a little more comfortable.

In terms of when to do these stretches, post-workout is a great time, says Balmes. You could also do the dynamic stretches (stretches that involve moving) before your workout as part of a warmup, as these types of stretches can potentially boost performance and decrease risk of injury, says Balmes. On the other hand, static stretches (stretches where you simply get into a position and hold), are a good idea post-workout, says Balmes. 

There’s no blanket recommendation of how often you should stretch your hamstrings, but if you’re looking for that tightness relief, a good rule of thumb is to simply stretch ‘em when then feel tight.

Stretching can provide that sweet short-term pain relief. But it is possible to overdo it. As you stretch, you’ll likely experience tension, but you shouldn’t feel pain.

If you stretch your hamstrings too regularly-slash-intensely, the muscle group could lose its ability to contract efficiently, says Balmes. That means stretching could actually decrease your muscle’s ability to produce force. And too much stretching—if coupled with not enough strength training—could potentially lead to injury. That’s because you could end up having too much mobility and not enough strength to properly control your motion in certain scenarios. 

It’s also important to make sure your run-of-the-mill “hamstring tightness” isn’t masking any sciatic nerve pain. The sciatic nerve is a large nerve that passes in between the hamstrings, and sometimes when it’s affected (say, the nerve gets pinched, or you have a herniated disc), that discomfort may register as hamstring pain, even though it’s actually a separate issue, says Balmes. 

The average person isn’t able to distinguish between sciatica (sciatic nerve pain) and non sciatica-related hamstring tightness, he explains, and that can be problematic if someone with sciatica tries to stretch their hamstring. Why? Well, unlike muscles, nerves do not like to be stretched, says Balmes, which means that stretching when you have sciatica can actually worsen the condition. So if your hamstring feels tight and stretching it seems to be causing more pain, you should stop stretching and instead visit a physical therapist who can help you appropriately treat the issue, says Balmes.