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MuscleThighsuperficialBeyond Cert IVDraft

SemitendinosusMusculus semitendinosus

Inner hamstring muscle with a long, cord-like lower tendon that bends the knee, extends the hip and turns the leg inwards.

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LatinMusculus semitendinosus
Origin
  • Lower, inner part of the ischial tuberosity (shared tendon with the biceps femoris long head)
Insertion
  • Upper medial surface of the tibia, at the pes anserinus (with sartorius and gracilis)
Action
  • Flexes the knee
  • Extends the hip
  • Medially rotates the leg when the knee is bent
  • Medially rotates the thigh when the hip is extended
NerveSciatic nerve (tibial part) (L5–S2)
GroupHamstrings
NameLatin semi, 'half', and tendinosus, 'tendinous' — the lower half of the muscle is a long tendon.

Palpation

  1. Client prone with the knee bent to about 90° and the foot supported; stand beside the thigh.
  2. Place your fingers on the inner side of the hollow behind the knee and find the most prominent, pencil-like tendon.
  3. Follow the tendon upwards into the fleshy belly that runs up the inner back of the thigh towards the ischial tuberosity.
  4. Ask the client to bend the knee against light resistance while turning the foot inwards; the tendon stands out sharply.

Landmarks: Ischial tuberosity

Semitendinosus lies on top of Semimembranosus on the inner back of the thigh. Its belly ends about halfway down the thigh in a long, round tendon, the most obvious cord on the inner side of the back of the knee. The tendon curves around the inside of the knee and joins Sartorius and Gracilis at the pes anserinus (“goose’s foot”) on the upper inner tibia.

To tell it from semimembranosus, find the thin, prominent tendon first: that is semitendinosus. Semimembranosus is wider and flatter, and can be felt on either side of the semitendinosus tendon just above the knee.

In a relaxation routine it is worked with the rest of the Hamstrings using Effleurage and Petrissage. Targeted work such as Stripping along the belly or PNF stretching is beyond Cert IV level.

Techniques

  • Effleurage — Long, gliding strokes with the whole palm that spread the medium, warm the tissue and link the other strokes together.
  • Petrissage — Kneading strokes that compress, lift and squeeze the muscle away from the bone, working the tissue between the hands.
  • Compression — Pressing straight down into a muscle with the palm, fist or forearm, holding briefly, then releasing and moving on.
  • Stripping — A slow, deep, narrow glide along the length of a single muscle with the thumb, knuckle or elbow, pausing over tight bands on the way.
  • PNF stretching — Assisted stretching that combines a passive stretch with an isometric contraction of the stretched muscle, and sometimes of the opposite muscle, before stretching further.

Works with

  • Semimembranosus — Broad, flat inner hamstring muscle lying under semitendinosus that bends the knee, extends the hip and turns the leg inwards.
  • Biceps femoris — Two-headed hamstring muscle on the outer back of the thigh that bends the knee, and with its long head also extends the hip.
  • Gracilis — Long, thin strap muscle running down the inner edge of the thigh from the pubic bone to the upper inner tibia, which pulls the thigh inwards and helps bend the knee.
  • Sartorius — Long, thin strap muscle, the longest in the body, running diagonally across the front of the thigh from the ASIS to the inner knee, which helps flex, abduct and laterally rotate the hip and bend the knee.
  • Gluteus maximus — The largest and most superficial buttock muscle, and the main extensor of the hip.

Opposes

  • Quadriceps — Group of four large muscles on the front of the thigh that join into one tendon over the kneecap and are the only muscles that straighten the knee.
  • Rectus femoris — Spindle-shaped muscle down the middle of the front of the thigh, the only quadriceps muscle that crosses the hip, so it both flexes the hip and straightens the knee.

Same group

  • Biceps femoris — Two-headed hamstring muscle on the outer back of the thigh that bends the knee, and with its long head also extends the hip.
  • Semimembranosus — Broad, flat inner hamstring muscle lying under semitendinosus that bends the knee, extends the hip and turns the leg inwards.

Used in routines

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Semitendinosus muscle
  2. Wikipedia: Hamstring