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Hamstring Attachment 06 PDF
Hamstring Attachment 06 PDF
Ask any room of yoga students whether they suffer from pain at one or both of their sit bones, and you can
count on a showing of hands. This kind of pain comes from injury to the hamstring attachment. Of course,
hamstring injuries are not unique to yoga, though the cause and treatment of this particular problem often is.
The more dramatic hamstring tears occur in sports and especially while running, when athletes are tightly
wound and move in sudden bursts that wrench and tear at the hamstrings, usually in the belly, or middle
part, of the muscle. In yoga, the injury occurs in a different way and at a different place.
For people who practice yoga, ham- Tendon injuries are in a class
string injuries develop over time, usually by themselves. They require a
where the hamstring attaches to the sit specific regime for healing that is
bone. This is a tendon injury, and unlike very simple but requires time,
a muscle tear, it doesnt happen suddenly. patience, and persistence. The
Instead, it is death by a thousand cuts: alternative, however, is even less
each tiny rip in the tendon is relatively attractive. Left alone, an injury to
minor by itself, but because it does not the hamstring attachment can
fully heal, repeated injuries accumulate take six months to a year to stop
over time, until an ill-considered bit of hurtingand even then it does
overstretching or an overly aggressive not mean that it has fully healed.
adjustment from a teacher finally puts The attachment remains far
the injury over the edge. more susceptible to re-injury
than a tendon that has been
properly treated.
HAMSTRING Each little cut in the ham-
INJURY The most string attachment occurs when
common hamstring the muscle is not engaged and
injury for yoga thus cannot protect itself.
Hands reaching for toes: Patrik Giardino / Getty Images; Illustrations: Doug Keller
practitioners Immediately after the injury
occurs just below however tiny it isadhesive scar
the sit bone. tissue forms. While this scar tis-
sue is meant to protect the ten-
don as it heals, quite often the
scar tissue hampers the healing process, of doing forward bends. As beginners, we
preventing a full recovery. Scar tissue lim- are taught to fold forward at the hip joint
its circulation and stiffens the tendon, (rather than at the waist) with a straight
leaving it more vulnerable. We tend to spine, maintaining a natural arch in the
dismiss each little injury after enduring lower back through most of a forward >>
some soreness, but the injury is really
cumulative. Repeated re-injury and the
Doug Kellers yoga journey includes 14 years of
formation of more scar tissue can extend practicing yoga in Siddha Yoga ashrams, inten-
over years, progressively weakening the sive training in the Anusara method, and nearly a
tendon. decade of teaching both in the United States and
In yoga, there is ample opportunity abroad. He has a masters degree in philosophy
for this to happen, usually in the process from Fordham University.
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HEALING A TORN TENDON
But what if the damage is already done?
How do we heal an injury that has been
building up for months or even years? A
simple and effective system for healing
tendon injuries has been detailed by Dr.
Ben Benjamin in a series of articles that
appeared in Massage & Bodywork maga-
zine in 2004. As a healing regimen, it
addresses two aspects of the injury: the
buildup of adhesive scar tissue and the
healing of the tendon itself.
The scar tissue can be progressively
cleared by a simple massage technique he
calls frictioning. Its purpose is to break
up the irregularly formed scar tissue in
PROTECT THE HAMSTRINGS A proper balance between engaging the quadriceps and drawing order to restore circulation and facilitate
the sit bones toward the backs of the knees tones and protects the hamstring attachments. the healing process. To friction a tendon,
rub or pluck your finger crosswise on
how deeply you move. This same lengthen upward through your spine and the tendonin one direction only, not
approach can be used in seated for- fold forward. Applying these techniques back and forthwith a degree of pres-
ward bends, too: draw your sit bones will help protect your tendons as you sure that is enough to be uncomfortable,
just slightly toward your knees as you move through the asanas. but not so great as to be painful. Do >>
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ening from your waistline toward your way down. Work up to three sets of four
tailbone to protect your lower backbut or five lifts. Keep your thighs parallel
youll probably find this happens auto- throughout and avoid pushing exces-
matically in this exercise. Your foot needs sively through your feet to lift up.
to only lift four or five inches from the A simple and safe way to stretch
ground; work up to three sets of five or the hamstrings in between exercises is
six lifts. You can increase the strengthen- to bend one knee slowly toward your
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and draw them back isometrically to
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