

Massage Gun Hamstring Exercises

Hamstrings are the muscles found in the back of the thighs. They attach the back of the knee/leg to the hip bone (the Ischium). The hamstrings muscles are responsible for the ability of the knee to bend (flex) and are also responsible for what looks like an extension of the hip when walking.

Hamstrings play a very indispensable role in our daily activities, but sitting for too long may cause muscle tightness hamstrings. The hip and knee joints are two of the most important joints of an athlete.

Ideally, before an athlete can engage in his/her athletic activities, he/she needs to be sure of the good condition of his/her hamstrings.

In November 2016, legendary New York Jets quarterback, Joe Flacco, featuring for the Ravens then, was interviewed few days to Thanksgiving. He was asked, “What’s your advice for people who want to win their family backyard football game on Thanksgiving?” Quite humorously, he showed how important a healthy hamstring was, at least for Thanksgiving, he answered:

Oh man…I feel like I envision a lot of hamstrings getting pulled and a lot of bumps and bruises out there. Don’t be the guy that ruins it for everybody. I think at the end of the day that’s how you win: You come out of it healthy.”

– Joe Flacco

Introducing…The Hamstring

The hamstring muscle consists of three muscles. The Semimembranosus is the largest hamstring muscle. It is responsible also for the ability of the knee to bend, the ability of the tibia to rotate, and also the ability of the thighs to extend.

The Biceps femoris is responsible for the bending and knee rotation. It is also responsible for the extension of your hips when walking. The biceps femoris originates from the thigh and inserts into the head of the fibula bone near the knee. The biceps femoris receives the majority of the force applied while engaging in an athletic activity. That's why it's one of the most recurring health challenges especially for sports that involve running such as track events, football, lawn tennis, and cricket.

The Semitendinosus which is regarded as the longest of the trio it is found between the biceps femoris and the semimembranosus.

The hamstrings injury is considered to be the most common reoccurring sports injury. This is because of the indispensable pivot role it plays in a sportsman and generally, every human being. The functions of the hamstrings though revolve around hips and the knees, are of pivotal importance in our everyday life, which include, but not limited to:

  • Giving the body the ability to bend (flex) the knees, walk, jump, climb, run, dance, and also to engage in several athletic activities.
  • It serves as a shock absorber when preparing for a forceful ground landing. The injurious impact of the forceful ground contact that is supposed to go straight to the joints becomes minimized by the hamstrings.
  • The hamstrings help in the extension of the hips while walking. It makes walking, jumping, running, and several daily motion activities possible.
  • The Hamstrings give the legs the ability to decelerate by extending its length thereby lowering the amount of pressure and impact of the force on the joints.
  • The hamstrings help to secure a skeletal and muscular alignment from the spine down to the hips, thereby keeping an upright or upward posture of the body.

How to Use a Massage Gun on Your Hamstring (A Layman’s Guide)

You should know how to safely and effectively make use of the benefits of a massage gun as what could be meant to take the pain away could, as a result of carelessness and ignorance, become a source of pain and other complications health problems.

  • The first step is to insert the ball attachment to the head of the massage gun without switching the device on.
  • Note that massage gun has several different attachments in a bid to gain convenient access to every nook and cranny of the body. For hamstrings, you can use a big round head, or a prong head, as desired.
  • Before using the massage gun, make sure to adjust the neck of the massage gun to a position that would enable you the convenience to apply the device.
  • Make sure the massage gun is not resting on your hamstrings before switching it on. this could trigger a conflicting reaction from the body. It could as little as a mild shock or as much as a sharp pain.
  • Hold the massage gun gently and firmly as the vibrations and oscillations could send unexpected surges through your hand. You don’t want such an expensive and beneficial machine to end up falling to the floor as a result of unpreparedness.
  • Allow the massage gun to gently rest and glide over your hamstrings at a uniform speed. the wakes up the muscles or better still activate them.
  • Allow the massage gun to thump your hip extension repeatedly. Slightly curl your legs and repeat this massage.
  • Now, to achieve a lasting and relaxing result of the hamstrings, glide the massage gun at a slower pace over the whole length of the hamstrings as this helps to loosen the muscles into a more relaxed state.
  • Whenever you come across a muscle tie/knot, allow the massage gun to run over that spot at a slower pace for a minute or two. To achieve a better result, you can switch to the bullet attachment, bullet heads are structured for this purpose – breaking of muscle knots and/or scar tissue. However, you have to be very careful not to add unnecessary pressure as the shape of the attachment does the work already. Again, that is what bullet heads are made for.
  • Now, repeat the whole procedure on the hamstring in the other limb.

Massage guns are devices that exert pulsating strokes and vigorous vibrations by a rapid oscillatory motion of the head of the device to pound into softness the tight and stiff muscles, send waves of pulses that travel deep into the muscles with the sole aim to relieve the muscles of stress,  DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness), muscle knots. When the foot strikes the ground hard, hamstring injuries can occur.

Typically, in sprinting, jumping, or rapid motions, when the hamstring is overstretched or overloaded, a hamstring pull is common. Proper use of a massage gun will allow for flexibility of the knee region, and reduce your chances of pulling your hamstring, having a fatigue hamstring, or a hamstring injury.

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