Assessment of dysfunction

I saw an athlete today complaining of ongoing hamstring tightness and strains that I have seen in the past. Based on the exam I noticed he had very tight hamstrings and restricted movement. He also displayed a quad dominant squat pattern with patellofemoral overload and some instability with single leg squats.

Based on his presentation we discussed a multi faceted program to improve his mobility and decrease his constant strains. We started doing 1 leg drops for movement and stability ball curls for hip and hamstring strength. We reviewed squatting and single leg squatting to engage his glute muscles to alleviate knee pain and we perform multi directional lunges for hip mobility. As an added bonus we worked on planks to strengthen his core and ensure that he can maintain adequate alignment.

Since his hamstring is the main link between the pelvis and lower body it is easy to get tight and strained. In order to combat this we need to build a strong stable base for the pelvis and core muscles. When these are stronger the hamstring his not under the same amount of tension trying to provide stability.

We will recheck his progress but this program should improve his strength and improve his motion leading to less recurrent strains.


You can see the quad dominant start in the picture below