Why are they called the 'hamstrings'?
The hamstrings are so called because in pigs they are the muscles used to make ham, and the hams were strung up using hooks through the long string-like tendons.
What do the hamstrings muscles do?
The hamstrings muscles' main function is to bend the knee but they also work to straighten the hip.
One can check hamstrings function and strength by letting the patient lie on their tummy on an examination table with the hips bent and the lower limbs hanging over the end. If the hamstrings are weak then the patient will have difficulty bending the bad knee as much as the opposite side, especially if an observer applies a bit of extension force.
What is a hamstrings strain?
Hamstrings injuries are very common in athletes.
Problems can range from a muscle sprain, through chronic tendinopathy to actual rupture of the hamstrings tendon.
"....Acute hamstring strains can occur with high-speed running or with excessive hamstring lengthening. Athletes with proximal hamstring tendinopathy often do not report a specific inciting event; instead they develop the pathology from chronic overuse...."
The hamstrings as a graft material for cruciate ligament reconstruction
During cruciate ligament reconstruction the surgeon may choose to take the tendon of the semitendinosis and that of the gracilis as a graft material.
"There is variable hamstring regeneration after harvest...Although overall functional deficits have been reported to be minimal, a definite change in the anatomy of the medial hamstrings is a factor..."
Other relevant links
Semitendinosus (Semi-T), Semimembranosus, Biceps femoris, Pes tendons, Gracilis, Hamstrings injury, Biceps femoris tendinitis, Hamstrings graft harvest, Hamstrings injury, Hamstrings exercises
Forum discussions
- weak hamstring?? - ACL reconstruction patients discuss problems with weak hamstrings after surgery.