Team Doctors Treatment and Training Center

American Fitness Quarterly - April 1991

Hamstring Training – Form Technique     

by James Stoxen, D.C.

     The act of exercising the hamstring muscle to rehabilitate and prevent anterior cruciate ligament tears of the knee has been well documented in the literature and in clinical trails for years. In this article, we will attempt to explain how exercising the hamstrings and other muscle groups which attach to the pelvis area should be attempted with pelvis in neutral position. We feel that there are very finely tuned neuromuscular events occurring in the pelvis area. We fell that these events can be significantly altered by exercising with the pelvis in any other position other than neutral. If these finely tuned events are altered or out of balance, this can cause weakness of muscles and tendons and can increase the chance of injury to the lower back, knee and hamstring, etc. We will attempt to demonstrate how exercising with the pelvis in the neutral position will reduce these injuries and add a new dimension to training.

The hamstring has been implicated in decelerating the knee before the foot strikes the ground when running. Many scientists have published studies which point towards the ability of hamstring exercises to decrease the potential for anterior cruciate ligament strain. The hamstring muscles are commonly exercised in the rehabilitation of injuries related to the tear of the anterior cruciate ligament.

     When the quadricep contracts, the hamstring will co-contracts to stabilize the knee. This is an extremely important concept. Researchers have found that with highly trained individuals, the co-contraction of the hamstring can disappear, therefore, leaving the knee open for serious injury because of its lack of support from the hamstring. Scientists have advocated hamstring exercises to these highly skilled athletes and have noted that quadricep exercise and strength testing can be performed with greater safety.

    When the knee is damaged, the quadricep is exercised, there is a large force delivered to the anterior cruciate ligament area. Up to five fold increase in the strain within the anterior cruciate ligament has been noted, especially in the last sixty degrees before full knee extension. Therefore, quadriceps strengthening by itself without hamstring development can evidently induce or increase the chance of anterior subluxation of the tibia bone in athletes with a weak anterior cruciate ligament, fatigued or damaged hamstring area, and should therefore be avoided.

     We feel that by adding the dimension of exercising the hamstring muscles with the pelvis in the neutral position is critically important to the training and rehabilitation of the athlete. By training with the pelvis in a neutral position the hamstrings and other muscles which attach to the area will maintain lengths securing the pelvis I the optimum position throughout sport. We feel this is critical for ideal biomechanical sport function. We feel that exercising the pelvis in any other position other than neutral will adversely affect neuromuscular coordination during running, power weighlifting and other athletic endeavors.

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