Hamstrings and calf muscles are hard working muscles and are really common areas for tightness. Tightness can occur due to many reasons from overuse, muscle imbalances, injury and even medication side effects. Additionally having these muscles short and tight can lead to stresses on other parts of the body.
Here we look at some key massage techniques to really loosen off the muscles whilst bringing in some myofascial release and massage with movement to increase the effectiveness of the work we can do.
So what muscles are we looking at here?
The hamstring is the three posterior thigh muscles linking the hip and knee; from medial to lateral these are semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris.
The calf muscles are namely the gastrocnemius and soleus. The gastrocnemius has two heads which together create a dimond shape whilst the soleus is a flat muscle.