High Hamstring Tendinopathy: What's The Deal With Sitting?

**Important - We seem to have forgotten to mention in the video that as you get better, sitting will also naturally improve.

Patients with high hamstring tendinopathy often want to know if they are making their injury worse if they sit through pain, or should they be forcing themselves to sit through pain? In this video, Maryke explains what approach to sitting seems to be most useful for SIP's patients.

👉 These ergonomic memory foam cushions are designed to take the pressure off your hamstring tendons:

Chapters:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:11 Pain does not indicate how severe an injury is
00:03:29 Don’t sit through the pain
00:03:54 Don’t avoid sitting either
00:04:25 Sitting guidelines

Also see:

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🖥️Some of the software we use to run our online physiotherapy practice:

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[SportsInjuryPhysio]

👉 These ergonomic memory foam cushions are designed to take the pressure off your hamstring tendons:
If you buy anything via these links, we may get a small commission at no extra cost to you.

[loriwilliamson]

THANK YOU! I can't put into words of gratefulness how much this video helped me. Thank you!

[Beth-vq]

I've had this 2 years, when the pain is intense I rub chopped ginger on it and let the juices soak into my skin, it reduces the inflammation and feels so good.

[shirleykatz]

Such a genuine and caring communicator. You have given hope. Thank you. Very helpful

[misterjones]

I have a left leg high hamstring injury that is very painful to sit on, so I'm sitting on the edge of the chair on my right buttock to keep the pressure off of the left side. Makes sitting bearable while the left hamstring is hopefully healing...

[Claudia]

Thanks for this video. Sitting on a high chair (knees lower than my hips) and using a wedge kind of cushion has been key to me.

[nizamshariff]

had this question in my head for so long. Thank you all the way from Sydney, Australia

[JayKayP-rg]

I cant even sit for 20 minutes in the bathroom, because the seat pushes in where the pain is coming from. I have implemented Bridge exercises and I hope that my hamstrings will adapt to work past the center point in stretched Position. Lets hope that it wont end with a inflamation.


Dont forget to do knee raises aswell, because one side is often linked to its contra part (weak hip flexor)

[chasstone]

Exactly what I got.waiting on dr call back..

[dianedusek]

Thanks so much for this video. It was great!

[ljr]

This seems to fit my circumstances almost perfectly (both symptoms and causes) with one exception: When I sit for a while (maybe 20-30 minutes) and then stand up I have difficulty walking normally. It is like the tendon takes a long time to return to normal from its stretched state... or something. Have you heard of this before?

[davidyoung]

These videos are awesome! I’m curious. A few years ago, I was playing basketball. I accelerated (left leg forward) and the defender lunged towards me. My left knee hit his right knee as I was ready to immediately take off. I also tried really hard to stop myself from falling, but ultimately did and felt the sharpest pain in the back of my leg. It was most painful when bending my knee while lifting my leg (such as trying to put on pants or step into an SUV). Sitting, standing and laying down were fine. Walking hurt a little bit, if I tried to walk too fast. Even going upstairs at school wasn’t too bad.

The pain in the hamstring subsided for the most part after about 4-6 weeks, but what formed was this residual dull ache in the high hamstring/low buttock area. It mainly comes on when sitting for a long time, especially sitting on a hard surface or sitting with tight jeans on. I made a long 7 hr road trip (and was fine because I put baggy shorts on and the car seat was soft). I also notice a slight pain in the PHT area when I first accelerate while running, but don’t feel it as I’m sprinting or whenever I finish. I also don’t feel the pain right after I finish an exercise or sprinting/running activity. The hamstring only feels tight when I actively stretch it (try to touch my toes), but other than that I feel fine. Even on a long car ride or a long time sitting, as long as the surface is softer or I have enough leg room to keep my legs stretched out in front of me, I’m fine.

I can play basketball, tennis, and do any exercise in the gym I want without causing further pain (including the leg extension machine). Bending, twisting, lifting, none of that provokes pain whatsoever. There are occasional when that dull ache in the proximal hamstring area is really bad in though, but it doesn’t last for more than a couple hours. The pain is always localized to that area. It never manifests in annother area of my hamstring. And I usually can’t point at what made it that. The only time I can actually attribute the ache to coming on is from sitting. No pain laughing, sneezing or coughing either.

Do you think this is consistent with PHT/ischial bursitis, or sciatica? I know you can’t diagnose online, but just off the description, I’m curious what that sounds like to you?

[joycegreen]

very good advice as always thank you!!!!

[garyklein]

Thanks. I suffer but your explanation helped

[mumsie]

I cant sit through the pain but its just started tonight and its insane. I have psa and am in a flare. Trying to breathe the pain out of my body

[cymraesfalch]

Further comment from my last note ... at 2:16 you say it interferes with your sleep ..is that the pain ? It certainly is so for me. Nowhere else mentions that. Thank you

[maureenpolak]

How to have reasonable sleep with this pain?

[gerbeh]

Hi, enjoyed your video on sitting. Wanted to book an online evaluation of my HHT but didn’t see you (Maryke Louw?) listed…can I book an on, I e consult with you? Let me know Thanks

[novacalucas]

Hi!
I am suffering with this pain almost 2 years.
I used to stretch a lot, but I have not been doing it anymore for more than a year.
Since then, I have been doing weight exercises, excentric and progressive.
Let me ask you:
Is it normal that I dont have any pain when I wake up and do hamstring exercises, but, as the day passes, and I sit for a few hours, the pain gets to very high levels at middle of the day until I go to sleep.
I wonder if I have a nerve problem, like inferior clunealgia.

[joelbond]

Is there a point where damage to the hamstring tendon becomes permanent? I’m a long distance runner, and I continued to train through this injury for 4-5 months or so, without really treating it. After realizing it wasn’t just going to go away, I seeked medical help, and am about 4 weeks into physical therapy. However, I’m afraid that continuing to overload the tendon during the healing stage has caused irreversible degenerative tendinopathy