What does the rectus femoris muscle do?
The rectus femoris is a biarticulate muscle, meaning it passes over two joints: the knee and hip. Its main function is as a knee extender; however, the proximal attachment at the anterior inferior iliac spine and the acetabulum allows for this muscle to act as a hip flexor as well.
What muscle is covered by the rectus femoris?
Quadriceps femoris muscle
Quadriceps femoris muscle, large fleshy muscle group covering the front and sides of the thigh. It has four parts: rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, and vastus intermedius.
What causes pain in the rectus femoris muscle?
A rectus femoris tendon strain usually occurs whilst doing explosive activities such as running or jumping. Symptoms include: Sudden sharp pain at the front of the hip or groin. Swelling and bruising may develop over the site of injury.
What is the common name for rectus femoris muscle?
quadriceps femoris muscle
The quadriceps femoris muscle translates to “four-headed muscle” from Latin. It bears this name because it consists of four individual muscles; rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, and vastus intermedius. Out of all four muscles, only the rectus femoris crosses both the hip and knee joints.
How do you treat rectus femoris pain?
In mild cases rest, ice and medication may be enough to reduce the pain. Once the pain is reduced, physical therapy is recommended to develop a series of stretching and strengthening exercises to prevent reoccurrence of the injury. Return to activity should be gradual to prevent a flare up of symptoms.
What exercises work the rectus femoris?
Squats and lunges, both simply with your body weight or with barbell or dumbbells will exercise the rectus femoris. Machine exercises include the leg extension and upright leg press.
How do you heal a pulled rectus femoris?
When treating acute rectus femoris/quadriceps tendinitis the principles of RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) should be initiated.
- Rest: avoid the activities that produce the pain (jumping, running, going up or down stairs, kneeling and squatting.)
- Ice: apply ice to the tendon or area of inflammation.
How do you hit the rectus femoris?
A simple way to strengthen rectus femoris is to do slow straight leg raises. Simply lay on your back, bend one knee and place that foot on the floor, keep the other leg straight and very slowly lift the leg until both knees meet, hold for a few seconds then slowly lower your leg.
How long does rectus femoris strain last?
In most cases, full return to activity will take from 2-6 weeks depending on the severity of the tendinitis.
