Re: Tight Hamstrings & Sub Occipital Muscles?

January 10, 2007

Todd Langer wrote:

" I think a logical place to start is to 1) learn how to activate your quads

during your stretching

(they might be under-active and causing hamstring tightness), build " core

strength " as your hammies could be tight in response to lack of control over

your center of gravity, 3) massage your sub occipital muscles in the back of

your neck (connect the neck to your head) - these little muscles have a

large proportion of muscle spindle fibers (proprioceptors) and can create a

situation where " neural tightness " is felt throughout the body, not muscle

tightness. I've yet to see someone who didn't respond to at least one of

these suggestions. Good luck! "

*****

Todd, I'd be very interested in reading the research regarding your 3

points made above. Please could you either send me the articles or reply

with the references?

Grant

Brisbane, Australia

January 11, 2007

I too would like to read more on that sub-occipital reference as I haven't run

across such a thing in my MT practice so far.

may want to try actually contracting her quads to loosen hamstrings,

that's a known trick we use to loosen a very tight muscle group that hasn't

responded by actually working it in other fashions. To do this, you place a

fist on the quad - and you actively contract, count to 7 while breathing

regularly, then relax your quad muscles. If it's going to work, the hamstrings

will be looser after the first try. The reason I've heard this works is because

the quad in tightening requires the hamstring to loosen when the body works.

(Similar situation with the abdominals and lower back as well, contracting the

abs can help relax the lower back, the chest with the shoulders sometimes works

too)

Sometimes icing will help relieve the overtightness and in the case of

overtraining a muscle may help a great deal.

If presented with very tight muscles in the posterior chain, I'd also ask if the

lady is wearing high heels for a work or holiday setting too....in the case of a

lady who then works out, she may be actually getting too much work on the

hamstrings that way. Given we have just experienced the winter holiday season,

this may have been part of the cause. If wearing heels for one's work, I would

say it's possible that stepping up your training coupled with heels in the

workplace could contribute significantly. Sometimes it's a matter of cumulative

work, plus we tend to accommodate fashion a bit more during holiday parties and

sometimes this difference fails to register when talking about what seems a

training related item!

Personally managed to lock my hams up wearing just 3 " heels once a couple years

ago...<grin> and mine certainly are well trained and otherwise cooperative

hammies! (the other side effect was that I was suddenly 6 feet tall and

somewhat less stable transiting the icey sidewalk...).

Lastly, it may be the hamstrings have responded to training more than other

parts of her body and getting a good sports massage may help clear up the

tightness. I don't think it's necessarily a reason for 10 alarm bells to ring

out and as SCARILY suggested in other postings, I don't think her spine is

malfunctioning....goodness! aren't there times in the world when a tight muscle

is SIMPLY A TIGHT MUSCLE? c'mon people!

But if that sub occipitals trick works as an overall relaxor, yes, I'd love to

read that article! Heck, I'd like to use it on MYSELF when my traps are going