Hamstring Exercises

[James_Smith]

@tb2010

Two years ago I partially tore my left pcl so my left knee has been kind of delicate since then. This makes hamstring curls a difficult exercise because I feel a lot of pressure in the back of my knee. I know for hamstrings I can also do rdl’s, good morning, straight leg deadlifts, etc. all of which I feel less knee pressure, but are these exercises working different muscles because I’m not closing the joint? any recommendations on similar exercises to hamstring curls that might be easier on my knee?

I completely tore my left PCL a couple months ago.

Hamstrings are not relevant toward compensating for the structural loss in this case, the quadriceps are.

The PCL, in short, assists the ACL in countering translation of the lower leg.

Keep the quad strong and, especially as a sprinter, you shouldn’t have any problem at all.

Roger Craig, the great RB for the 49ers, played the majority of his career with a torn PCL (note the size of his quadriceps).

As for hamstring exercises, stay with those that extend the hip (back raises/hypers, reverse hypers, good mornings, RDLs, pull throught, and so on).

I’m not a fan of leg curls at all. If you wish to perform a knee flexion movement then perform the GHR, on a GHR NOT the floor version unless you have a makeshift pad that is large enough, and make sure the fulcrum is set farther away from the foot plate, closer to your hips, in order to ensure that the stress is directed more toward the muscle bellies of the hamstring and glutes versus the posterior structures of the knee joint.