How A Gymnast’s “Tight Hamstrings” Can Really Be a Core Control Problem

Something really interesting happened to me the other night at the gym during practice, and I wanted to share the story. One of my level 8’s told me that she has “really tight hamstrings” and that for some reason no matter how much she stretches her splits or pikes they never get better. I know this gymnast personally, and I know that she is one of the most flexible/hyper mobile girls on our team. So naturally I was thinking there had to be more to this. I decided to take a few minutes to break it down and figure out if it was really a hamstring mobility problem based on a lot of the PT information I’ve been reading/listening to lately. What ended up looking light tight hamstrings and a restricted pike stretch was really a core control /stability problem, and by doing some corrective work I was able to fix what looked like tight hamstrings in about 5 minutes. It all started out with her showing me a pike stretch, where she said she felt a lot of pulling in the back of her legs because of her hamstrings and she could not reach her hands to the floor.

Pre-Test Pike Stretch Suggesting Some “Tightness”

Tackling Faulty Lower Spine and Hip Posture In Gymnasts (Pt II): How To Address The Possible Contributing Issues

Last week in Part I of this topic, I went over some contributing factors to gymnasts developing chronic archy back, or anterior pelvic tilting. I also outlined how this may link to possible progressive/traumatic injuries,  and decreased skill performance with gymnastics based skills.  If the issue gets to the point where it causes an injury or pain, it is often times very frustrating for the gymnast. The then have to deal with the pain during daily activities, and they usually need to stop gymnastics while using PT to address the underlying issues. Patients of mine that are gymnasts with this issue unfortunately have progressed to the point they are in this situation, and are being forced to deal with the recovery aspect while missing their season. It is much better to address the issue very early during training in the gym, and hopefully prevent it before it gets to be too serious.

Improper Half Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch – Note Anterior Pelvic Tilt and Compensatory Use of Lower Back Arch

There are definitely some ways that coaches and gymnasts can help to correct for this faulty lower body posture commonly seen. By far the biggest factor in this is being cognitively aware of it, and making sure athletes are actively trying to correct the problem during training. If the gymnast does not try to fix the problem when doing drills/skill, standing in line for turns, sitting in school, and through their daily activities, it will be very hard to fix the overall problem. All the stretches, myofascial work, and corrective exercises won’t get you anywhere if the athlete spends 12 hours a day hanging out in the arch back position.

Tackling Faulty Lower Spine and Hip Posture in Gymnasts (Part I): Links To Injury and Possible Contributing Factors

 The very first post I ever put up on this blog was about hip flexor mobility restrictions, and it had some information related to improper posture in gymnasts. It concerned how a lack of hip flexor mobility can contribute to both decreased skill performance, and possibly some injuries. Although that is definitely one contributing factor for the typical lower back posture many athletes assume, there is a lot more to it that coaches and athletes can learn about. Due to it being so common with gymnasts, many members of the sport view it a natural part of doing gymnastics. However, it is not something that should just brushed over. I hope to educate readers about the possible reasons behind this lower spine/pelvis/hip posture, describe why it can be problematic for gymnasts, and discuss how to deal with some of the issues. During this weeks post I will break down some possible contributing factors gymnasts may have, and why it might lead to some not so fun situations related to skill performance/injuries.  Here’s a common picture we probably all see, gymnasts waiting for turns hanging out in this type of archy posture. I happened to catch one of our girls in the background of a photo. 

Example of Resting “arch back” Gymnastics Posture

This type of posture can be linked to a few big issues like:

• Increased lower back stress during backward bending skills, and contributions to possible hyper mobility of the lower spine. This can lead to various sprains/strains of the spine, and possible slippage of the vertebrae if it becomes a habit.
• Decreased performance for bridge based skills (tumbling, bar releases, yerchankos) as well as for leaps, dance, and jumps requiring hip extension
• Increased risk of forceful back extension with landings, dismounts, and bounding or “jamming” the back (opening early in front skills, or 1 1/2 punch on floor for example). Which I can tell you from experience, feels just awful.
• Faulty dismounting and landing mechanics, which can then be linked to multiple other spine and lower leg problems
• Builds a base of faulty movement patterns for gymnastics skills and development, which gives coaches and gymnasts a major headache down the road when athletes struggle to undue the habits.

Pike Stretches in Gymnastics: What Muscles You May Be Actually Targeting

For this post I wanted to continue on the lower back flexibility path from last week, and discuss another scenario I’ve seen many times when working with gymnasts. Although this is specific to gymnasts, the information has carry over to anyone who is an active person. Many people who are runners, competitive athletes, or recreational exercisers also struggle with this area. Chronic tightness of the lower leg structures, like the hamstrings and calves, without proper mobilization and stretching may lead to a variety of injuries over time.

Bridge Mobility: Why Your Gymnasts May Be Struggling: Possible Injury Prevention For The Lower Back and Tips To Help

This week I wanted to discuss a topic that can possibly reduce a gymnast’s risk of lower back pain, as well as help improve their skill performance. Many people have asked me about how to address bridges that lack mobility and how to deal with lower back pain related to back bending type skills. I would think that most coaches agree with me in saying that a proper bridge is one of the most fundamentally crucial positions an athlete needs to be successful in gymnastics. I think many coaches would also agree that helping an athlete who has chronic difficulty acquiring a proper bridge is quite frustrating. Many versions of a bridge/arch are needed for hundreds of skills in both men’s and women’s gymnastics. Some skills with different bridge/arch movement requirements include,