Have pain from sitting too long? It's time to stretch those hamstrings!

1. This is the safest way to stretch your hamstrings. Lie on the floor with knees bent. Raise one leg straight and loop a towel or strap (non-elastic) over your foot until you feel a stretch at the back of your thigh. Hold for 10-30 seconds, then switch legs. — Photos: REVATHI MURUGAPPAN/The Star

Humans are built to stand upright as our body systems work more efficiently this way.

However, most of us, especially teenagers, are now sitting more than standing or walking.

Numerous studies have revealed that this is a recipe for an early grave.

Spending six to eight hours daily on your butt – be it at work, in a car, while using an electronic gadget or in front of the television – increases the relative risk of heart disease and premature death.

Diseases aside, you also end up getting really tight hamstrings – which could explain why your hips and lower back start to hurt.

Ideally, you should spend less than four hours sitting.

And in between, the rule of thumb is to get up and walk or stretch for five minutes every half an hour, i.e. 25-5.

Basic anatomy

The hamstrings comprise three muscles at the back of the thigh. They start at the knee and insert at the hip.

These muscles play an important part in the complex gait cycle during walking, which includes absorption of kinetic energy and protection of the knee and hip joints.

Besides too much sitting, activities such as jogging; sports that involve a lot of sprinting or stop-and-start movements, like football or tennis; insufficient stretching before physical activity; overuse; and underuse; can all lead to tight hamstrings.

When the hamstrings are too tight, the muscles rotate the pelvis backward.

This can flatten the natural arch in the back, which can cause poor seated and standing postures.

Strengthening and stretching the hamstrings can prevent them from becoming too tight and provide extra support for the back and pelvis, so that you can sit straighter and stand taller.

As fast-twitch muscles that develop high-speed contractions, the hamstrings can be easily strained, especially when there is a sudden burst of energy without adequate warm up, e.g. dashing across the road to beat the red light or jumping to reach something.

When you sprint, the hamstrings must repeatedly contract rapidly and forcefully, which may cause them to be susceptible to injury.

If you recall, former Jamaican sprinter and world record holder Usain Bolt suffered a cramp in his left hamstring after taking the baton from his teammate in the 4x100m World Championships in London – his career final – in 2017.

He hobbled, tumbled and had to exit the track in a wheelchair.

Bolt tore the main hamstring muscle (biceps femoris) and spent three months rehabilitating.

Recovering from a hamstring injury depends on how severe it is.

A minor muscle pull or strain (grade 1) may take a few days to heal, whereas it could take weeks or months to recover from a muscle tear (grade 2 or 3).

Returning to strenuous exercise too quickly could make your injury worse.

However, resting and avoiding exercise for too long can cause your hamstring muscles to shrink and scar tissue to form around the tear.

To avoid this, you should start doing gentle hamstring stretches a few days after the pain has started to subside.

Quick check

The easiest way to test if your hamstrings are tight is to do a forward bend, i.e. bend over to touch your toes while keeping your knees straight.

If you can’t do it, then you have tight, and possibly weak, hamstrings.

You need to stretch them.

A regular routine of hamstring stretches can gradually lengthen these muscles, making them less prone to injury.

Unfortunately, you’re more likely to injure your hamstring if you’ve injured it before.

It takes time and effort to loosen tight muscles, so you should commit to doing one or more of the hamstring stretches shown here once or twice a day over the long term to get the best results.

Holding the stretches for 10 to 30 seconds is sufficient for increasing flexibility.

Good luck!

Revathi Murugappan is a certified fitness trainer who tries to battle gravity and continues to dance to express herself artistically and nourish her soul. For more information, email [e-mail]. The information contained in this column is for general educational purposes only. Neither The Star nor the author gives any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to such information. The Star and the author disclaim all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.