From the Clinic

In our last email, we talked about why your hamstrings might feel tight — even when they’re not the real issue.

We mentioned two common culprits:

• Nerve tension (especially the sciatic nerve)

• Muscle guarding (your body’s way of protecting itself)

A bunch of you asked:

“Okay… so what do I do about it?”

Let’s get into that 

Why Stretching Isn’t Always the Answer

Once you figure out what’s really causing the tightness, the next step isn’t to stretch harder — it’s to help your body feel safe and confident moving again.

If it’s nerve tension, too much stretching can actually make things worse.

If it’s guarding, your nervous system doesn’t trust the movement yet — it’s just trying to keep you safe.

The goal: calm things down and rebuild trust in your movement.

What Helps Instead

Here are a few go-to moves we often use in the clinic — depending on what we find during an assessment:

For Nerve Tension (Sciatic Nerve Glides)

• Lie on your back with one leg bent (knee above hip).

• Support your thigh with your hands.

• Slowly straighten your knee until you feel a gentle stretch.

• Point your toes toward your head slightly, then relax.

• Repeat gently — you should never push through pain.

 Cue we always give:

“You should feel like you’re starting to get tension — not fighting it.”

For Muscle Guarding (Building Safety + Strength)
When your nervous system is being protective, the goal is to help it feel safe again through calm breathing and controlled movement.

Try:

• Deep breathing (hands on your belly, slow and relaxed)

• Child’s Pose with breathing

• Seated toe reaches with slow breaths

• Gentle strength work like seated good mornings or light Jefferson curls

These teach your body that it’s okay to move again — safely and confidently.

What We’ve Learned

We used to think stretching fixed everything.
Now, we know better.

Before stretching, we ask:

• Is it muscle tightness?

• Guarding?

• Nerve tension?

Once we find the real cause, people usually need fewer exercises — and get better results.

If stretching isn’t helping, don’t worry — you’re not broken, and you’re not alone.

We can help you figure out what your body’s really trying to tell you, and get you moving comfortably again.

Book an appointment now by clicking here!!

-The team at District Performance & Physio