The quadriceps muscles are the muscles on the front of the thigh. They consist of the vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius and the rectus femoris. A strain is a tear in the muscle. These can range in severity, from a very small tear to a complete rupture.

Tears to the quadriceps muscles usually occur following an activity such as sprinting, jumping or kicking, especially if a thorough warm-up hasn’t been undertaken. Any of these muscles can strain or tear but probably the most common is the rectus femoris. This is because it is the only one of the four muscles which crosses both the hip and knee joints. This makes it more susceptible to injury.

A strain can occur either at the musculotendinous junction where the muscle becomes tendon just above the knee, or higher up in the belly of the muscle. Injury to the rectus femoris tendon at the hip either as a tear or an overuse inflammation type injury can also occur.

Injuries that occur following a direct impact to the muscle, such as being hit by a ball or other hard object, are more likely to be contusions and should be treated slightly differently.

Our regenerative therapies have been found to be effective in healing strains.  Please contact us for a consultation to see if our therapies could potentially help your quadriceps strain.