Massage Tutorial THE HAMMIES

Hey everyone. Today I've got video for you on the hamstrings and I'm going to talk lot about the ways to work the hamstrings at the origin, at the insertion, how to think about these really commonly tight muscles that can cause lot of back pain, lot of knee pain, and even some foot pain. So, want to address different ways to work the hamstrings and give you some tips and tricks about how to work the hamstrings maybe differently than you have in the past. To start off with here, I'm just doing some basic warm-up strokes, but instead of the usual, I'm using my right thumb to sink in little deeper and more specifically and using my left hand to support that thumb. And that just helps me change it up little bit and get feel for what's going on in the hamstrings little differently. Here I'm using both of my soft fists, but I'm taking one of my thumbs and wrapping it in the other hand so that have nice clean powerful stroke all the way through. These muscles can be really ropey and are very commonly unbelievably tight. So finding good way to get some power and some depth in there is always going to be helpful. Another really great basic start to working the hamstrings is to focus on the connective tissue that crosses over the paplatil crease. So sinking deeply into the hamstrings with one hand pushing up towards the hip and pulling down across the gastro really stretching out all of that connective tissue. Next, I'm going to pull my client's leg off the table to the side so that I'm really extending the knee and dorsif flexing the foot. And I'm doing this with my knee so that the extension that comes all the way from the isial tuberosity and bleeds down to the toes can then be accessed and stretched in way that is not always common and often gets skipped with massage. Here I've got different perspective of the same technique and I'm pushing the foot up with my knee and then using that length to really stretch out the hamstrings and all the connective tissue around it. And think what's important to note here is that when someone either has plantar fasciitis or an Achilles tendon tear, it can really play role in how the hamstrings perform. So, want to address the entirety of the back of the leg and that plays really big role on how the hamstrings can perform. With my client's leg back up on the table, want to pay some extra attention to the insertion points for the hamstrings. The stringy tendons of the semmitendinosis and the semi-meanosis, which affectionately refer to as the semicisters, come on the medial side of the knee, and then the biceps for come around on the lateral side of the knee. And so just warm them up first and then sink in with my fingers and make sure that I'm really paying attention to how they move and how they react to my work. And then check in about how this is feeling with my client. Often times just the attention to this area can feel so good to client with tight hamstrings. And in shocking turn of events, I've got my client in the figure 4 position again. love this position, and will include the link to how to get your client in this position in the comments below. love it for the hamstrings because it can bring the leg into positions that can manipulate both the origin and the insertion, stretching it out and softening it. So here, as bring the lower leg off the table, I'm extending the knee and really lengthening out the hamstrings in way that can't do if the leg just stays on the table. So, as really bring that knee into extension and slide up the hamstrings all the way to the isial tuberosity, I'm getting deeper stretch and some new length into this tight muscle. On side note, most hamstring injuries occur closer to the origin, but can occur either from overstretching or from fast activation like sprinting. So, they come in many different versions and have many different causes, but hamstring injuries never feel good. Reason number 254 that love the figure 4 position is because it gives me amazing access to the isial tuberosity which is the source of not just the origin of the hamstrings but also the attachment site for so many hip muscles and has way of being stuck in this tugofwar this push and pull between the glutes and the deeper glute muscles and the hamstrings themselves. With this technique, I've got one hand on the isial tuberosity and the other hand sinking through the TFL at the front close to the ASIS. And I'm really just shaking the hip. And what this does is starts to loosen up the attachment sites and gives the hip this three-dimensional feeling and recognizes the attachments and the connection it has to itself and all of its surrounding body parts. focusing more specifically on the hamstrings and the origin. I'm sinking in here and applying deep friction. So, I've found the isial tuberosity and sinking just inferior to that. Really frictioning through. And then once feel like it's starting to loosen up, want to encourage crowding that tissue towards that actual bony landmark so that it can start to heal itself and it can start to move in way that is lot healthier. After I've done that kind of specific work, like to come down the leg and just shake out the hamstrings and the quads, everything surrounding the femur and give it some connection and give it some movement, give it some vibration. This is really good sports technique, but like to apply it here as well. For clients who can't go into the figure four position or just don't like it, working the origin of the hamstrings can easily be done with the client prone or in side lying, which have coming up in future video. Keep your eye out for it. but really you just want to focus on sinking down into the origin and pulling the hip up little bit as you work. And what this does is it shifts the way that the bones pull up on that origin on that thick tendon. And as you're sinking down into the tendon itself, it can shift and move and disconnect from any adhesions and start to allow for fluidity from any past injuries, any tension, anything that might be going on. I'm showing alternating perspectives of working from one side of the table or the opposite just to offer you alternating ideas about how to work. Moving down to the insertion, I'm using my client's prone position to offer pen and stretch. love this technique. use it lot and think it's super easy to do here and super effective. So, as bend the knee, I'm bringing the ankle up. I'm sinking into the biceps forous here in this picture and sliding up as extend the knee down letting the foot drop down to the table. And this is really great way to isolate the biceps for if you happen to know that that's where the injury lies or the tension lies. Sometimes lateral knee pain is mistaken for IT band stuff, but sometimes it's actually the biceps forest. So you want to pay attention to that. Of course, you might want to focus where you find the most tension or where your client is complaining the most pain is, but don't forget the opposite side. So, same technique on the medial side here, just as effective and definitely plays role in that tugofwar on the knee, both medial and lateral. In an effort to address the fact that these muscles medially and laterally rotate the flex knee, want to sink in with my client supine bolster under their knee. So, the knee is slightly flexed, sinking in with my hands into those attachment sites, into those insertion points. And I'm going to have my client medially and laterally rotate the tibia just little bit as sink in. And have them repeat that action. can feel those tendons popping out and flexing underneath my fingertips. Not my thumbs, but my fingertips. And I'm sinking in as my client performs this action. And as they relax, sink in even more, create little friction, and loosen up that attachment site and allow it to move little bit better. Flexing the hip can often address the hamstrings in way that can't be done while your client is prone. So with my client's supine, lift their leg up, rest their lower leg on my shoulder, and as push their knee towards their chest, I'm sliding down towards the isial tuberosity, and I'm creating lot of stretch and lot of length with this technique. It's little bit tricky, but you want to make sure that you are sinking in either with soft fist or an elbow. And as you push the knee up, slide down towards the hip. And what you're doing in effect here is crowding that tissue down towards the posterior pelvis as you give it stretch. So you're allowing it to move more and retraining it how to move in healthy way, creating even more movement. can do this either passively or actively. Here I'm actively asking my client to extend their knee. So this is obviously going to stretch those hamstrings out even more. And as push down, not only is it giving the hip more tissue and more fabric with which to move, but it's also stretching out the insertion point and giving the knee reminder on how to allow the hip to move little bit better. For clients who may not have the flexibility that my model here does, keep their leg down, have them grab the sheet so they can feel like they are in charge of their own comfort level, and just lift their knee little bit. I'm down on my knees here. I've got her lower leg on my shoulder again. And instead of these drastic movements in the hip and knee, I'm merely pushing in towards the isial tuberosity, slightly lifting the leg off the table. And if want to at this point, can then have them extend their knee up and lower their knee down, offering some deep compression and reminding these hamstrings how to move, how to create flow, and how to allow the rest of the leg and the hip and eventually the whole body to move fluidly. Thank you guys so much for watching and if you haven't already, please subscribe and please pass this on. Tell your friends, tell your colleagues, tell your massage therapist. would totally appreciate it. I've got more tricks and tips to come. So cast it on.