Your quad! How can the quad either reduce or even cause pain in the knee joint?

Everybody who exercises may have heard of the term quadriceps, a big bulky muscle located in the front of the thigh! Friends or a personal trainer may have told you that you’re quad dominant, which could be why you are experiencing excessive knee pain!

 

As simple as it may seem, we forget the quadriceps are engaged with each singular  step we take. In every step, this muscle holds you up from collapsing by contracting to support and lift you up! The average American takes 5,000 to 7,000 steps per day! In addition, your quads are the primary muscle used for sitting down and standing up, therefore, they are constantly in demand. Contracting, contracting, contracting! Logically it would be helpful to release said constant stress and instead of constantly contracting, we should be making it a priority to stretch every day.  

 

Tight quadriceps increase both the pressure and pulling of the knee joint. Other factors like alignment of the thigh bone vs shin bone causes the quadriceps to pull the kneecap mostly laterally, causing a deviation which also triggers significant pain on the inside soft tissue structures of the knee. This can create an imbalance of the quadriceps.

 

To identify the real issue of potential knee pains associated with quadriceps, hamstrings, and other knee joint structures, please contact us at Results Physical Therapy! We can set up a free screen to identify the potential cause of your knee pains, and if the quadriceps are a major factor in your daily discomforts!  You will be surprised how effective and pain-relieving knowledgeable maintenance can be for your problems!

 

-Written by Andreas Schenk, owner of Results Physical Therapy and the founder of the Results Treatment Method