You can begin gently stretching your hamstring right away by doing exercise 1, the standing hamstring stretch. Make sure you do not feel any sharp pain, only a mild discomfort in the back of your thigh when you are doing the stretch. After the standing hamstring stretch has become easier, you can do exercise 2, the hamstring stretch on a wall. You should also stretch your calf muscle because it attaches near where your hamstring ends.
Next, start strengthening your hamstrings using exercises 4, 5, and 6 when the pain is gone. After your hamstrings have become stronger and you feel you leg is stable, you can begin strengthening the quadriceps (the muscles in the front of the thigh) by doing exercise 7, the wall slide.
1. STANDING HAMSTRING STRETCH - Stand with the heel of your injured leg resting on a stool that is about 15 inches high. Keep your knee straight. Gently lean forward from your hips, keeping your shoulders in line with your trunk, until you feel a stretch in the back of your thigh. Hold this position for 30 to 60 seconds. Return to the starting position. Do not round your shoulders or bring your head toward your toe, as this will only stretch your lower back and not your hamstrings. Repeat 3 times.
2. HAMSTRING STRETCH ON A WALL- Lie on your back with your buttocks close to a doorway, and extend your legs straight out in front of you. Raise your injured leg and rest it against the wall next to the door frame. Hold this position for 30 to 60 seconds, feeling a stretch in the back of your thigh. repeat three times.
3. STANDING CALF STRETCH - Facing a wall, put your hands against the wall at about eye level. Keep the uninjured leg forward and your injured leg back about 12-18 inches behind your uninjured leg. Keep your injured leg straight and your heel on the floor. Next, do a slight lunge by bending the knee of the forward leg. Lean into the wall until you feel a stretch in your calf muscle. Hold this position for 30-60 seconds, and repeat 3 times.
4. PRONE KNEE BENDS - Lie on your stomach with a towel rolled up underneath your injured thigh, just above your knee. Slowly bend your knee and try to touch your buttock with your heel. Return to the starting position. You can challenge yourself by wearing ankle weights. Repeat 20 times.
5. THERA-BAND HAMSTRING CURLS - Sit in a chair facing a door, about 3 feet from the door. Loop and tie one end of the tubing around the ankle of your injured leg. Tie a knot in the other end of the Thera-Band and shut the knot in the door. Bend your knee so that your foot slides along the floor and moves back underneath the chair, stretching the tubing. Slowly let your foot slide forward again. Repeat 10 times. Do 3 sets of 10.
6. HEEL RAISES - Balance yourself while standing behind a chair or counter. Raise your body up on to your toes, then slowly lower it. Repeat 10 times, and do 2 sets of 10.
7. WALL SLIDE - Stand with your back, shoulders, and head against a wall and look straight ahead. Keep your shoulders relaxed and your feet one foot away from the wall, a shoulder's width apart. Keeping your head against the wall, slowly squat until you are almost in a sitting position. Your thighs will not yet be parellel to the floor. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Slowly slide back up. Repeat 20 times.
1. STANDING HAMSTRING STRETCH - Stand with the heel of your injured leg resting on a stool that is about 15 inches high. Keep your knee straight. Gently lean forward from your hips, keeping your shoulders in line with your trunk, until you feel a stretch in the back of your thigh. Hold this position for 30 to 60 seconds. Return to the starting position. Do not round your shoulders or bring your head toward your toe, as this will only stretch your lower back and not your hamstrings. Repeat 3 times.
2. HAMSTRING STRETCH ON A WALL- Lie on your back with your buttocks close to a doorway, and extend your legs straight out in front of you. Raise your injured leg and rest it against the wall next to the door frame. Hold this position for 30 to 60 seconds, feeling a stretch in the back of your thigh. repeat three times.
3. STANDING CALF STRETCH - Facing a wall, put your hands against the wall at about eye level. Keep the uninjured leg forward and your injured leg back about 12-18 inches behind your uninjured leg. Keep your injured leg straight and your heel on the floor. Next, do a slight lunge by bending the knee of the forward leg. Lean into the wall until you feel a stretch in your calf muscle. Hold this position for 30-60 seconds, and repeat 3 times.
4. PRONE KNEE BENDS - Lie on your stomach with a towel rolled up underneath your injured thigh, just above your knee. Slowly bend your knee and try to touch your buttock with your heel. Return to the starting position. You can challenge yourself by wearing ankle weights. Repeat 20 times.
5. THERA-BAND HAMSTRING CURLS - Sit in a chair facing a door, about 3 feet from the door. Loop and tie one end of the tubing around the ankle of your injured leg. Tie a knot in the other end of the Thera-Band and shut the knot in the door. Bend your knee so that your foot slides along the floor and moves back underneath the chair, stretching the tubing. Slowly let your foot slide forward again. Repeat 10 times. Do 3 sets of 10.
6. HEEL RAISES - Balance yourself while standing behind a chair or counter. Raise your body up on to your toes, then slowly lower it. Repeat 10 times, and do 2 sets of 10.
7. WALL SLIDE - Stand with your back, shoulders, and head against a wall and look straight ahead. Keep your shoulders relaxed and your feet one foot away from the wall, a shoulder's width apart. Keeping your head against the wall, slowly squat until you are almost in a sitting position. Your thighs will not yet be parellel to the floor. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Slowly slide back up. Repeat 20 times.
