What are the hamstrings?

Hamstrings are tendons of the muscles of the back of the thigh. They bend the knee and hip.
Muscle hamstring injury is a common in athletics.
Most injuries of hamstring muscle and the tendon heal without surgery.
The risk of severe injuries can be reduced with a regular program of stretching and exercises.

The hamstrings are tendons that attach the large muscles in the back of the thigh to the bone. The hamstrings are the large muscles that pull on the tendons. Academic anatomists refer to them as the posterior thigh muscles, specifically the semimembranosis or semitendinosis and biceps femoris muscles. These muscles span the thigh, crossing both the hip and knee. They start just below the buttocks, under the bone on which we sit down (the ischium). They connect through their tendons on the tops of the leg bones (tibia and fibula).

The origin of the hamstring word comes from Old English hamm, meaning thigh. String refers to the look and feel of the tendons just above the back of the knee. Although tendons are sometimes involved in accidents, this article refers to "hamstring" the group of large muscles in the back of the thigh because the most common problems involve muscle groups.

What is the function of the hamstrings?

The hamstring muscles actively bend (flex) the knee. They also act to straighten or (extend) the hip (as in the movement of rearward movement of the thigh). Surprisingly, these large muscles are not very active while standing. However, they are extremely important in activities such as the power stroke, jumping and climbing. Thus, sedentary people can get by with hamstring or deconditioned quite low, so that athletes and physically active people depend absolutely great health, well-conditioned hamstrings.

The advantages of high power hamstrings have been known long. In the past, a sword-wielding knight would disable an opponent with a slice on the back of the thigh. Cruel masters were known to have hamstrung domestic slaves or prisoners in order to escape less likely. The origin of the term paralyzed, meaning they have been paralyzed or slowed down, due to these practices.