# Straining upper hamstring from wrong seat position?



## AscarLarkinyar (Apr 24, 2012)

i keep straining the muscles that are in the area of my upper hamstring and lower glute or where they meet.

its when i am riding hard in the saddle and for a long time. i do get up and pedal standing quite often, but i still am able to make this area strained enough that i have to take 4-5 days off.

is my seat too high or too far forward. it defiantly is not too low or too far back. i have had a pro fit many many times and still get this issue. more info, 175mm cranks, 5'10", 30" inseam, great nutrition and proper diet. conservative workout schedule with lots of coaching advice. stretching program and enough recovery between rides.


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## igor99 (May 31, 2011)

I wish I could help but have the same issue this year. Taking time off hasn't helped me either.


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## AscarLarkinyar (Apr 24, 2012)

maybe this pic can help


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## jmorgan (Apr 13, 2012)

I would try moving the saddle back a little


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## phoehn9111 (May 11, 2005)

My fitter identified not enough setback in my case also, however YMMV


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## woodys737 (Dec 31, 2005)

Moving back recruits more hamstring and glutes so I'm not understanding why he'd want to do that. Seems like a saddle too high might be more the culprit OR something that could effectively make the seat too high by causing too much leg extension. Too narrow a saddle or not enough arch support (if you have high arches) are two examples that can cause this. Hard to say.


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## litespeedchick (Sep 9, 2003)

arrgh. me too. hamstring right where it inserts. or is it the glute? the pain moves around, making me think it's not really a muscle strain at all. Hurts when i sit in a car a long time, hurts running, never bothers me on the bike, but somehow I suspect the bike started it. Mine is only on one side though, is your's on either side?

I've done foam roller, yoga, dry needling, massage, had my gait analyzied, you name it. The only thing that has seemed to help is to stop (over?)stretching it. Looking forward to reading the responses you get.


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## bq_or_bust (Oct 27, 2007)

i got this from running; speed workouts. it took a while to heal and even now if i push it too much (mainly running and not cycling), it would come back. i've read an article where it said this takes a long time to heal and if you don't heal it correctly, it would consistently come back. maybe the blood flow is low in this area so acupuncture may aid in the healing. overly stretching or massaging it may actually be bad (causing more damage than aiding recovery).

i don't know too much of seat setback position, but, i believe a shorter crank arm may aid in recovery as the crank revolution would be smaller and thus not requiring the higher end of your hamstring as much.

good luck.


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## gibson00 (Aug 7, 2006)

I know this is a really old thread, but I've been dealing with this as well for the past 5 months. Seems like a high hamstring tendonopathy, right where it inserts at the top of the leg / bottom of butt (ischial tuberostiy - AKA sit bone)..

I've had tight hamstrings for a long time, and over the past year, I'd sometimes have to stop during the run to stretch that one side. Then in October, I made a change on the bike....never really occurred to me that it could have caused a problem, but now wondering if it did.....I actually changed from a 172.5 crank to a 165, and at the same time, went from a rotor oval chainring back to a normal round ring. Wondering if one or both of those increased the aggravation....
Top of hamstring hurts when running, hip/sit area down to ham hurts when sitting...
PT thinks I have possibly two issues going on, piriformis like issue, and hamstring tendonopathy. Scheduling me for a cortisone shot for the hamstring, but that isn't a long terms solution.
Anyone here have any luck?


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