Hey Mike,
I was wondering if you can help me out with a hamstring issue. I play football and I had a minor tear in my hamstring around mid-July. I went to a doctor and he sent me to a rehab place. They had me rest for four weeks, then started me on a rehab program with ART work also. My leg started to feel fine and they said I could play, but sit out if there is any pain. It felt fine for a few days but went to shit after that. It bothered me so much that I could only play on and off for the rest of the season. I wanted to know if u can help me figure out what is going on with it? I would really appreciate the help. Thanks
Tony,
Hammies can pull/strain for a lot of reasons:
- Quads are too strong for the hammies
- Eccentric hammie strength is poor
- Hammies are getting overworked due to poor gluteal function
- Poor pelvic alignment/pelvic instability
Without looking at you, it's hard to say what the problem is.
Thanks!
Mike,
For someone who's job requires them to be at a desk 8-10 hours a day, what are your thoughts on kneeling chairs? Are they beneficial or just a gimmick? Thanks.
Ray,
Great question! I'm not sure what a kneeling chair is, but I recommend that people try and mix up the following:
- Stand up at your desk and/or just stand up more
- Get an airex pad and mess around with either half-kneeling/lunge stretches, or tall-kneeling positions (both knees down). Focus on getting tall and squeezing the glutes.
Getting your hips in extension for more time throughout the day is a great thing and your body will thank you.
Good luck and let me know what you end up doing!
I drive for work, anywhere between 4-9 hours a day in trips up too an hour and a half. I've bought myself a lumbar support pillow, which seems to help, but by back still gets pretty stiff after a long day. What can I do to keep healthy, especially when I have an ME squat session on weekdays?
Yeah, that's definitely not an ideal scenario, but here's what I would do to make it work:
1.Extend your warm-up time
- 10-15 minutes may not be enough to get things moving and shaking correctly. I would really take your time on the foam roller, getting loose, etc.
2. Stretch your hip flexors whenever possible
- Seriously, get out of the the car whenever possible to get your hips back in extension. If you have the time on weekends or something, you might try some long-duration hip flexor stretching to try and offset things.
3. Shift your program design
- I would really hit your hips/glutes hard, if you aren't already. Glute/hip thrusters, pull-throughs, etc. Again, anything to get your hips in extension will help.
I hope that helps a bit. It's not an ideal scenario, but employing these things should really help.
Good luck!
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