Healing Yoga Hamstrings Injury | Recovering Soreness

By Alex Assoune Mar 16, 2021

Healing yoga hamstrings injury is difficult. Overstretching the hamstrings is one of the most common yoga mistakes. Follow these tips to avoid and heal yoga hamstrings injury.

When it happens, you become stiff and will not be able to bend forward properly. When you are training flexibility during yoga, it is important to be mindful of your body.

Trying to do too much too soon lead to extreme soreness. Your muscles, joints, ligaments and nerves will suffer severely. If you are looking to progress fast, this is not the way to go.

Hamstring soreness is one of the most common problems in yoga. Pain occurs especially during forward bends (Uttanasana or Paschimottanasana). Taking time to heal is key to avoid aggravating the pain.

Tight hamstrings are also responsible for back pain, spine issues, bad posture. Losing range of motion and flexibility happens with chronic soreness.

Hamstrings flexibility is very important for a well-rounded and healthy yoga practice. That is why it is highly recommend to take good care of your hamstrings and avoid tightness.

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The Science Behind Healing Yoga Hamstrings Injury.

The hamstrings are leg muscles on the back of the thighs. Contracting hamstrings bend the knees. Yoga hamstrings injury usually develops over time. It begins with tiny rips that do not fully heal.

If repeated injuries accumulate, overstretching or pulling the muscles is a lot more likely. Healing yoga hamstrings injury is key to prevent pain. It takes time, patience and persistence.

Scar tissues appear after tiny cuts in the muscles and tendons. They are designed to protect them while they heal. A full recovery is necessary to limit vulnerability and repeated injury.

Properly engaging the hamstrings is the first step of prevention. Bending the knees during forward bends is highly recommended for beginners. It helps you keep a straight back while releasing the hamstrings.

Going slow when your flexibility increases is essential. Hyperextension of the muscles and ligaments create rips that are difficult to heal. Keep the muscles engaged to avoid overstretching.

Strengthening and lengthening the hamstrings take a big role in any serious yoga practice. Combining forward bends and back bends is especially adequate for a balanced practice.

Best Tips For Healing Yoga Hamstrings Injury.

If you have over flexible hamstrings, you should be extra careful. Many yoga beginners have tight hamstrings, but some have the opposite problem. Overstretching is quite frequent with high flexibility.

Tears at the hamstring tendons at the inner knee or at the sitting bones lead to injury. If tendons and ligaments are affected, it can take a lot of time to heal back. Proper treatment is necessary.

The way you stretch is responsible in many cases for overstretching and injuries. A good warm up is essential, along with using props such as yoga chairs and blocks when necessary.

Never push yourself too far. Always work with range of your own limits and abilities. Challenge your hamstrings, but gently. It may take months before your body adapts to the new workout.

To heal properly after injury, you need healthy habits. Corrective exercises, a healthy yoga diet, enough restful sleep, and medical attention. Plenty of rest is highly recommended.

But you have to start moving again as soon as possible. Rehabilitation is key after the first trauma passes. Usually after one or two weeks. To avoid losing range of motion, you have to exercise.

Make sure to take it slow and listen to your body closely. Discomfort is okay but pain is not. Pain is your body telling something is wrong. So stop and adjust accordingly.

Yoga Exercices For Hamstrings Recovery.

Yoga hamstrings injury often occurs with standing forward bends. Straight legs put a lot of stress on the hamstrings, especially at the insertions at the sit-bones. It makes it prone to injury.

To heal back you need to achieve a natural strength balance of all the leg and lower trunk muscles. Practice the following exercises to strengthen the hamstrings:

Triangle pose (Trikonasana)
Side Stretch pose (Parshvottanasana)
Bridge pose (Setu Bandhasana)
Locus pose (Salabhasana)
Upward Plank pose (Purvottanasana)

You want to focus on removing stress from your hamstring insertion but at the same time strengthen your muscles. Bend the knees and contract your quadriceps to protect them by lifting the knee caps.

Using postures that add strength to the hamstrings will speed up recovery and ease pain. Alter your method of stretching to work a healthy region and give the injured part time to heal.

Summing up:

Healing yoga hamstrings injury should have high priority. For a healthy and well-rounded yoga practice, you want to balance strength and flexibility in your whole body.

There are few exercises you can practice regularly to gain strength and mobility back. Always be mindful of how you feel and act accordingly. Overstretching is a common yoga mistake you can avoid.

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About the Author: Alex Assoune

Alex Assoune (MS) is a global health and environmental advocate. He founded Panaprium to inspire others with conscious living, ethical, and sustainable fashion. Alex has worked in many countries to address social and environmental issues. He speaks three languages and holds two Master of Science degrees in Engineering from SIGMA and IFPEN schools.