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\u200b<\/b>Anatomy of the Posterior Thigh (The Back of Your Leg)<\/b><\/b><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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There is a lot going on in your posterior thigh. For the sake of simplicity, I\u2019m going to discuss the anatomy of the two main structures that most frequently limit flexibility in your pike stretch: hamstrings and your sciatic nerve.<\/span><\/p>\n
Hamstrings<\/h3>\n
There are three hamstring muscles (per leg) and they all originate on the bottom of your pelvis (half of one originates on the back of your thigh bone, if we\u2019re being picky). They course down the back of your thigh, and insert on the bones of your lower leg- the top of your tibia and fibula, just below the back of your knee.<\/span><\/p>\n
![\"backofhamstrings\"](\"https:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/backofhamstrings.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhat Makes Hamstrings Stretch?<\/span><\/i><\/h4>\n
To fully stretch any muscle, you have to move the insertion away from the origin. For hamstrings specifically, this often looks like the standard forward fold\/pike stretch. However, frequently in this stretch, we let our pelvis rotate downward (\u201ctail tucked\u201d position), which technically means you\u2019re not fully stretching the hamstrings, because the origin is creeping towards the insertion.\u00a0 To get a true hamstring stretch, the knee must be extended straight, and the pelvis must not be posteriorly tilted.<\/span><\/p>\n
Sciatic Nerve<\/h3>\n
The next potentially pike-limiting structure of the posterior thigh is the sciatic nerve and its branches. This is the largest nerve in your body, and is about the diameter of your pinky finger. The sciatic nerve is formed from several segments of nerves exiting your spinal cord in your lower back, then it courses down behind the gluteal muscles, in between your hamstrings, and all the way under your calves and into the bottom of your feet (it branches into other nerves at several points along this course, but they\u2019re all connected).<\/span>
\n![\"sciaticnerve\"](\"https:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/sciaticnerve.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhat Stretches the Sciatic Nerve?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n
Because this nerve runs from your low back to the bottom of your feet, to completely stretch this nerve, we can also be in a pike stretch- but there are several key differences with this vs the aforementioned hamstring stretch! Here\u2019s what puts the sciatic nerve on max tension: Sitting in a pike, slouching forward (spinal flexion\/tail tucked), and feet flexed.\u00a0 \u200b\u200b<\/span><\/p>\n
![\"sciaticnervestretch\"](\"https:\/\/www.aerialdancing.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/sciaticnervestretch.jpg\")
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Nerve Flossing<\/b><\/b><\/h2>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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\u200bOkay, so\u2026how do you un-stick the nerve? Nerves tend to respond very well to a \u201cgliding\/flossing\u201d action as opposed to a long hold \u201ctensioning\u201d action.\u00a0 This means that you increase tension at one end of the nerve, and put the other end of the nerve on slack- then reverse this motion. Nerves respond better to slow rhythmic movement, and as such, you want to repeat this \u201cgliding\u201d pattern for multiple repetitions in one set.<\/span><\/p>\n
This video discusses proper nerve gliding technique.<\/span><\/p>\n
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