Training & Nutrition - Tight hamstring - methods to fix it?

I got into cycling about 2 years ago now. Prior to that, I spent a lot of time sitting behind a computer and I believe (but am not positive) that all this sedentary activity sitting caused my hamstrings to get extremely short and tight. I have/had back pain and upon seeing a physical therapist was told of my bad hamstrings and his advice was to sit with a straight back in a chair and raise and lower my legs.......for 5 years!
Today, my back problems arent as bad but for the past year I have had debilitating knee issues. Right now I am calling it quits on the bike for 3 months trying to give my body a chance to heal and recuperate.
I have seen 3 doctors and all have with a straight face told me I have quadricepts tendonitis but fail to ever pinpoint WHY I have it. My bike has been professionally fit and I do not mash the pedals (complete opposite, I spin a very low gear).
My personal non medical hypothesis right now is thats its my damn hamstrings biting me in the ass still. I can still see and feel that they are short and tight but I don't know how to approach the problem.
So with that long rant said, what is my best appraoch at tackling my hamstring issue?

Thanks in advance,
Dan

good for more than just hamstrings, get on a good stretching program. Something a PT can map out for you. It should address the whole body, not just the legs. Other issues aside, you should see marked changes in flexibility and reducing 'use' injuries in just a few months - not years.
And if you really wanna work at it, start a beginners Yoga course.
Both teach you effective breathing and relaxation as well.
Finally, a regular massage (weekly is very nice, every 2 weeks helps a lot, whatever you can afford) helps promote circulation, waste removal and adhesion problems.
Learning self-massage goes a long way to getting some daily benefits from massage.

I got into cycling about 2 years ago now. Prior to that, I spent a lot of time sitting behind a computer and I believe (but am not positive) that all this sedentary activity sitting caused my hamstrings to get extremely short and tight. I have/had back pain and upon seeing a physical therapist was told of my bad hamstrings and his advice was to sit with a straight back in a chair and raise and lower my legs.......for 5 years!
Today, my back problems arent as bad but for the past year I have had debilitating knee issues. Right now I am calling it quits on the bike for 3 months trying to give my body a chance to heal and recuperate.
I have seen 3 doctors and all have with a straight face told me I have quadricepts tendonitis but fail to ever pinpoint WHY I have it. My bike has been professionally fit and I do not mash the pedals (complete opposite, I spin a very low gear).
My personal non medical hypothesis right now is thats its my damn hamstrings biting me in the ass still. I can still see and feel that they are short and tight but I don't know how to approach the problem.
So with that long rant said, what is my best appraoch at tackling my hamstring issue?

Thanks in advance,
Dan

Tight hamstrings can mess up your back. I wouldn't be surprised if they could also cause knee issues because knees are the weak joint.

I've had very good luck with the Cyclo-zen stretches. If you decide to buy, I get a few $$$ if you use the following link:

http://www.1shoppingcart.com/app/?af=618264

There are lots of good stretches in Zen. Cyclo-speed also has a bunch of PNF and active stretches.

After pulling my hammy twice, I went to a PT and he was great. We did a variety of electro stim and stretching and it really made a huge diffrence.

I also have "quadriceps tendonitis". Also have tight hammies. I think we just have to suck it up and stretch A LOT. Though sometimes I feel like I'm stretching my tendons/ligaments more than the muscles.

stretch, stretch, stretch :)

You should look at some yoga poses. There is some great stuff out there that will stretch your hamstrings.

The notion of stretching has always seemed so controversial to me. From the 3 sports medicine doctors I've been to, they all had different opinions on stretching; some religious about it, some only stretch after, some don't stretch at all. It bothers me I can't get any concrete information on whether stretching is actually good or not and if it is good, when it should be done

funnily enough, my super-tight tight my right hammy was served best by stretching my quads and hip flexors; I assume because it improved my pelvic tilt. The hamstring felt so tight that, at its worst, I thought I had one leg shorter than the other, and I rode around with about an 8mm shim under my right cleat.

There is a possibility that it's all do to bike fit. I've been biking for about 5-6 years and just two weeks ago I developed knee pain in both knees (more in the left) and a back ach on the left lower side. I checked out the bike and the saddle had a 2 or 3 degree tilt to the right. Corrected that and things were good again. All kinds of things like cleat angles and seat position can cause knee and back problems.

I've always suffered from tight hamstrings if I ride really hard (mostly mountain biking and some road) which I do often. Stretching never worked and has no real scientific basis any way, but walking a mile or two after a ride was my salvation. Then I read an article that said that some folks who are less flexible should run a little lower saddle. Tried that and it helped, but did not totally eliminate the problem, so I kept up with some walking.

Over the last year and a half, I've been doing far more riding in the mountains than I used too. I decided that I needed to better optimize my bike set-up for climbing rather than what I had which was developed for the flats of N Florida. When I got to saddle position, I moved my saddle forward (keeping the height the same) a half inch putting my knee only about half inch back from the pedal spindle vice an inch. I also get a longer stem. Other than more comfortable climbing, an immediate result was no more than very slight tightness anywhere which has to be normal. That's the results both on the flats and in the mountains.

According to Ryan in her latest book, the causes muscle tightness/spasms are not really known but the best evidence seems to point to over fatigue or possibly not enough sodium. In my case I know I over do the leg fatigue thing and I do replace electrolytes when I ride.

Al

i'm a big believer in yoga to relax the leg muscles. Incidently it really can improve respiration. Ice and elevation above the heart of inflammed or problem muscles/joints is great for 24 hours post-ride. After that switch to heat pads. Self massage can go a long way to purge lactic acid and other waste buildup. I like to use The Stick. It's a semi-flexible plastic rod with lots of plastic rollers - big in the running world. Google it.

+1 on the Stick.

NFields