Thigh Strains (Quadriceps Injuries/ Rectus Femoris)

Quadriceps (Rectus Femoris) Strain

You maybe midway through pre-season training and starting to get into more kicking and running drills? You may want to work on a very important quadricep muscle known as the Rectus Femoris (RF). The quadricep muscle is a group of four muscles situated at the front of the hip/leg. The RF is the most superficial of the group of muscles and has two attachment sites, both of which are above the hip joint.

The exact motion you perform when kicking a ball can cause a RF strain - ie. straightening the knee & bending the hip.

Rectus femoris injuries make up the majority of quadricep injuries in soccer players. The injury occurs with a clear mechanism: acceleration, deceleration or from a kicking activity.

Symptoms:

1. Usually pain around the front of the hip will present following an acute incident (Most likely from one of the above mechanisms).

[endif]--Swelling and/or redness may occur. Painful on stretch (Pulling leg back behind the hip

Pain with kicking or explosive movements. Difficulty weight-bearing.

The closer the strain is to the hip; the longer rehabilitation is.

The longer the strain is, the longer recovery is. cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="604"

Grade 1 Grade 2

Further from hip 10 days-3 weeks 4-8 weeks.