How To Improve Hamstring Mobility

Photos are AI generated, the words are straight from my brain though!

Here is an issue from our bi weekly newsletter specifically for health and fitness professionals. Our owner, Jesse Lewis, shares his experience and ideas as well as stories to help the health and fitness community connect and learn from each other.

From the Clinic

Almost every week, I have someone come in and say, “My hamstrings are always tight.”

They’ve been stretching for months. Sometimes years. Still tight. Still frustrated.

And 9 times out of 10 in this case, it’s not actually their hamstrings.

What We’re Seeing

There are two common culprits that feel exactly like hamstring tightness:

• Sciatic nerve tension

• Muscle guarding and over-protection

The sciatic nerve runs right through the back of the leg, so when it’s irritated or sensitive, it can feel just like a hamstring stretch. But if they feel that pull all the way into their calf, that’s a huge clue that it’s probably not muscle.

Same with guarding. 

The nervous system might just be trying to keep them safe:

"You’ve had pain here before. Let’s not go there again.” Or, maybe their brain just doesn't trust their back to support a full forward bend.

It’s not actual tightness, it’s protection. But, it feels exactly the same to them.

How We Coach It

Before assigning another round of stretching, I use two simple tests:

First, start by just having them do a regular toe touch and see how it feels and how far they go. Then:

Test 1: Heel-Elevated Toe Touch

• Have their heels elevated on a book or plates and do another toe touch

• If they reach deeper with heels up, that’s almost definitely nerve tension, not hamstring

  
  

Test 2: Fist-Squeeze Toe Touch

• Have them squeeze their fists hard and then maintain that while bending forward

• If range improves, that’s typically nervous system guarding

• This distracts the nervous system and doesn't let it go into overdrive

  
  

If either of these two quick tests are positive, there's a really good chance they've been working on a problem (hamstring tightness) that isn't actually a problem. Most of the time when I tell people this they get relieved that they can stop working on something that isn't actually giving them any benefit.