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from Rick Mayo's blog

Do Tight Hamstrings Cause Back Pain? You might be suprised.

I have mentioned Dr Stuart McGill in two recent posts regarding back health. Spinal health is a hot topic as some 85% of us will experience back pain at some point in our lives.

One of the more common beliefs is that tight hamstrings cause lower back pain by somehow pulling on the hip complex and changing the motion/function of the lumbar spine. According to Dr McGill, his extensive research and thousands of case studies show no connection between hamstring flexibility and back pain!

In most cases the pain is caused by tight nerves (due to disc bulges and other spinal dysfunction). What happens when you stretch a tight nerve? It gets irritated. In our quest to relieve our pain we are actually exacerbating the problem by stretching our "tight hamstrings".

In response to his findings on hamstring flexibility and back pain Dr McGill states:

I don't know if they're particularly unique. Our science is usually only confirming what the great lifters and coaches already know. I've mentioned neural tension, which too many perceive as muscle tension. This should never be stretched

So how do you know if you have tight muscles or tight nerves? It is really hard to self diagnose, but you can use some common sense when searching for answers. I'll use one of our clients as an example. We'll call him Bill.

Bill travels extensively on business and therefore spends many hours sitting (now considered a dynamic activity). He has bulging discs in his lumbar spine and is flexion (bending forward) intolerant. When we look at Bill's back pain patterns, they always seem to follow periods of abnormally heavy travel. This pain is typically accompanied by perceived hamstring tightness. Regardless of his efforts to stretch or treat his tight hamstrings with massage, his back pain does not subside. Now, during periods when Bill is not traveling, he demonstrates no back discomfort with no change in hamstring flexibility.

Would you say that Bill's hamstrings are causing his back pain or is his spinal hygiene causing him some nerve problems that could be misconceived as hamstring tightness? Exactly.

How about you? Think about when and why your back hurts and if that follows the sensation of hamstring tightness or its it the other way around? Hmm. Chicken or the egg?

If you are experiencing regular back discomfort, seek professional help. Just do yourself a favor and don't accept tight hamstrings as the universal cause of your back pain.

Rick Mayo