Hamstring Stretch in Doorway

• Lie on your back in a doorway, with one leg through the open door.
• Slide your leg up the wall to straighten your knee. You should feel a gentle stretch down the back of your leg. Hold the stretch for at least 1 minute. As the days go by, add a little more time until you can relax and let these muscles stretch for as much as 6 minutes for each leg.
  • Do not arch your back.
  • Do not bend either knee.
  • Keep one heel touching the floor and the other heel touching the wall. Do not point your toes.
• Repeat with your other leg.
• Do 2 to 4 times for each leg.

If you do not have a place to do this exercise in a doorway, there is another way to do it:

• Lie on your back and bend the knee of the leg you want to stretch.
• Loop a towel under the ball and toes of that foot, and hold the ends of the towel in your hands.
• Straighten your knee and slowly pull back on the towel. You should feel a gentle stretch down the back of your leg. It is hard to hold this stretch with a towel for a long time, but hold the stretch for at least 15 to 30 seconds. One minute or more is even better.
• Repeat with your other leg.
• Do 2 to 4 times for each leg.

Credits

By	Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer	William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer	Joan Rigg, PT, OCS - Physical Therapy
Last Revised	February 15, 2012