West Palm Beach Back Pain Benefits from Hamstring Stretching and Flexibility

Knees, hips, spine and hamstrings are all linked. When one hurts the others have to pick up the slack. For West Palm Beach back pain patients wanting to relieve and prevent back pain, it’s extra important to be sure to strengthen everything. Beginning with the hamstrings is a great place as their strength and flexibility is tied to all the rest.

BENEFITS OF HAMSTRING FLEXIBILITY

Bending over to pick up a shoe off the floor is no easy task. Chiropractors warn about the bending, lifting and twisting motions! Bending needs hamstring, knee, hip, and spine participation. They each need to be independently in great shape. They must work together like clockwork. New research described how hamstring stretching exercises significantly increased the range of motion of active knee extension. Further, hip flexion was significantly enhanced by hamstring stretching while lumbar flexion and lumbar spine/hip flexion ratio dropped while doing repetitive stoop lifting or daily activities. (1) Having flexible hamstrings and hip flexors safeguard the spine while flexing which is helpful to West Palm Beach back pain sufferers.

HOW BEST TO STRETCH HAMSTRINGS

What is the best way to stretch hamstrings and hip flexors? For healthy young adults, static stretching was found in one study to be effective in increasing hamstring flexibility. (2) Static and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching are both effective at increasing hip flexion range of motion. (3) To Chiropractic Care, doing it in the proper way is key.  Stretching is always important.  Also, the goals of hamstring stretching are to lengthen the hamstring muscle as well as its lumbar flexion range of motion. Seated and standing hamstring stretching with knee extension are similarly effective for this goal. (4) Hip flexibility after exercise interventions with stretching and/or core endurance both produced increased hip range of motion and lumbar rotation range of motion during hip extension. (5) See how everything is connected? Chiropractic Care does!

CONTACT Chiropractic Care

Listen to this PODCAST with Dr. Jasmine Hornberger on The Back Doctors Podcast with Dr. Michael Johnson as she describes a patient with spinal stenosis that brings on not only spine pain but hip pain and groin pain as well. She put into action The Cox® Technic System of Spinal Pain Management protocols to help this back pain patient find relief.

Schedule your next West Palm Beach chiropractic appointment with Chiropractic Care.  We will help you discover a path to flexible, lengthened hamstrings that supports the knee, hip, and spine so you can pick up anything off the floor that you need.