Quadriceps Muscle Tears & Strains

The quadriceps muscles relate directly to the hamstring muscles as the hip moves and the knee flexes during athletic activities. Therefore, a strain or tear in the hamstring muscles or the quadriceps muscles directly affects the stress or load placed on the other. A quadriceps muscle strain refers to damage in the muscle fibers and possibly their associated tendons in the anterior upper thigh. This can happen with a seemingly innocent movement, like lifting, changing direction suddenly, and twisting. Many athletes will strain a muscle as a result of their sport, but weekend warriors who are active only occasionally are more vulnerable to muscle injuries, especially if they don't warm up and stretch properly.

The upper leg muscles provide your knees with mobility (extension, flexion and rotation) and strength. Your quadriceps muscles are located on the front of your thigh and extend down to just below your kneecap. They work closely with your hamstring muscles (back of your thigh), your gluteal muscles, and your calf muscles to move your leg, knee and hip.

These tendon and muscles work to help to stabilize your knee. Hip flexors, two muscles that work together to work your knee are the rectus femoris is the longest quadriceps muscle; it connects your hip and knee joint. And, the sartorius muscle is a rotator of the tibia that works with your quadriceps to help straighten your knee and flex the hip - (contract, relax, flexed and extended), you are able move your knee from a bent position to a straight and move your knee from a straight to a bent position (as seen in kicking motions). The quadriceps muscles in the front of the leg, hamstring muscles in the back, and adductor muscles on the inside are responsible for the trunk and legs' multi-directional movements.

The muscles primarily responsible for bringing the leg forward from the hip are the psoas and rectus femoris. The hamstring and gluteus maximus bring the leg behind the body from the hip. The adductor magnus and adductor longus draw the leg to this inside of the body. The gluteus medius, gluteus minimus and tensor fascia lata bring the leg towards the outside of the body. They are also the group of muscles responsible for stabilizing the hip, especially with weight bearing activities.

When straining a muscle in the thigh, it is common that more than one muscle and possibly the associated tendon can be affected. There are varying degrees of muscle strain injuries. Some are mild and can heal well with conservative treatment. Severe muscle injuries, also known as ruptures, are usually a result of a traumatic injury such as a fall or an accident and may accompany a fracture.

Causes of a Thigh Muscle (Quadriceps) Strain

Quadriceps muscles are normally injured during very active sports where there's sudden speed increase and/or explosive jumping (running, track & field, baseball, football), a sudden change of direction and/or strenuous kicking motions (squash, tennis, soccer, karate, kickboxing), or heavy overloading (weightlifting or leg presses on machines). During dynamic activities you often load your hip joint by up to eight times your body weight, which can put a lot of continuous pressure on your quadriceps.

Muscle exhaustion and fatigue decrease your strength, power and endurance which increase your risk for injury. Overstretching, overexertion and overuse of your quadriceps muscles occurs frequently in sporting activities and/or daily life. When you have not warmed-up and stretched properly before moving, your muscles aren't ready for the stress, therefore your chances for injury are increased. Doing too much, too soon, too fast, or exercising and moving about in cold weather, puts you at even more risk for thigh muscle injuries. Sometimes you will get a pulled thigh muscle doing very simple tasks like jumping off a higher surface, or running after your kids or the bus.

Utilizing poor technique (under-striding: running at full speed then slowing down too quickly), improper equipment (old shoes) or hard and uneven training surface during activities will often put your body at a higher risk for injury. These will also make you feel more tired as the inefficient movements require you to use more energy to complete tasks than required.

Repeated quadriceps injuries are very common. You lose the function and strength of your thigh (quadriceps) over time, and encourage inflammation, scar tissue and calcification development, so these damaged parts never heal properly. Impatience and not letting injuries heal, so your body can return to peak performance level is often the reason for repeat injury. Previous injuries to your lower back, pelvis, thighs, hips, knees, and/or calf can also encourage a thigh muscle injury (especially if they haven't healed properly).

The above causes are often self-imposed; which means with a little self-management you can have some control over the outcomes. However, the following conditions can make you more prone to quadriceps injuries and are often the cause of a number of the above situations.

Muscle imbalances or weakness in your muscles (especially in your quadriceps and hamstrings, or your lower back and pelvis muscles) can cause strength differences and poor coordination that results in pulled quadriceps muscles. Your thigh muscles are normally stronger they your hamstring. There are cases where the hamstring are stronger, common with runners and teenage girls often have a vastus lateralis muscle that overpowers their weaker vastus medialis muscle. This occurs because their muscles can't keep up with the widening of their hip bones. If no stretching or extra strengthening of the vastus medialis is done, it can result in knee locking, kneecap tracking issues and other knee discomfort.

Tight quadricep muscles often result from not stretching properly before your activities. However, shortened and tightened muscles, spine stiffness and poor flexibility can be hereditary and/or a side-effect of aging; this is seen more frequently in men than women. All of these can cause a lot of pressure on your body (injured psoas and iliacus which causes weakness in hip flexion, restricts your lower back movement and the femoral nerve) and require a lot of work on your part with daily stretching.

Alignment issues, leg length differences, or which affects the way your foot hits the ground when you walk (overpronation or supination) can put a lot of stress on your quadriceps muscles and result in a pulled thigh muscles. These often add to the imbalance in your quadriceps and hamstrings.

A general summation of the most common causes of a quadricep injury is as follows:

• Not warming up properly
• Inactivity followed by sudden activity
  (i.e. a game of football on the weekend)
• A traumatic fall or accident
• Quadricep muscle fatigue
• Activity during cold weather, which causes muscles to contract

Other factors that can put extra tension on your quadriceps and increase your risk of injury to your thigh muscles would be:

• Poor fitness levels and lack of exercise
• Poor nutrition and obesity
• Posture irregularities (lumbar lordosis)
• Neural tension (scar tissue around the nerves)
• Diabetes, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, renal (kidney) failure or bleeding disorders

Should You See a Doctor If You Have a Strained Quad?

This is up to your discretion; however any continued discomfort in the thigh and/or knee area should be investigated. If you continue to experience such symptoms and have tried the suggested conservative treatments for 2 -3 weeks, it is recommended that you seek professional medical attention. It is recommended you seek immediate attention if you:

• hear a "loud pop" in your muscle when injured
• have immediate severe pain, swelling or discoloration in your quadriceps
• experience severe weakness in your leg (compared to other leg) and have difficulty walking
• experience severe weakness in your leg (compared to other leg) and have difficulty walking
• have a temperature over 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C)
• notice blue toe nails, numbness or coldness below your injury

Preventing Quadriceps Injuries

It is always better to prevent injuries rather than try to fix them after they happen, however that is not always the situation. A thigh muscle strain can be difficult to prevent as your major symptoms may start long after you've had the condition. In any case, there are a number of things you can do to keep yourself healthy and prevent further damage.

Maintain a strong and proper posture, and wear proper footwear and gear for your activity. This will ensure your body is properly aligned, and will prevent against slouching or bad form which will make you more prone to injury. Your equipment should be comfortable and provide enough padding (knee or thigh pads), and your shoes should provide sufficient sole stiffness and arch support.

Avoid doing too much to soon to give your body an opportunity to build up its endurance. This is especially important when participating in a new activity. Gradually increase your participation to prevent overstraining your muscles.

Always warm up your muscles (especially your leg muscles) before working them to prepare your body and to raise your body temperature (15-20 minutes is the recommended time). Recovery from your activity can be enhanced by doing a cool down to lower your body temperature and relax your muscles.

To stabilize your thigh muscles, and increase your range of motion, maintain and build your strength, stability and flexibility of your quadriceps as well as your hamstrings, IT band, lower leg, gluteal, pelvis, low back and core body muscles. Light weights, exercise bands and balls are very beneficial for strengthening your lower body. Core balance training and exercises to develop strength, speed and agility, such as jumping or bounding movements (plyometrics). Yoga, tai chi, or a daily stretching routine will help to keep your muscles and joints supple - avoid sudden twisting and turning motions.

A regular exercise program that focuses on total body fitness and includes low-impact aerobic activity at least 3 days per week, such as walking, swimming or biking will help to keep you healthy overall and will strengthen your body to prevent against further quadriceps injuries.

Proper food and fluid intake prior to and/or during activities will ensure you have enough energy and will help to prevent against fatigue. Ensure you avoid dehydration which can lead to muscle cramping. Weight loss and/or weight maintenance involves eating a balanced diet full of protein, complex carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and antioxidants which will help support a healthy system. If you gain just 10 pounds, your joints must bear from 25 up to 100 pounds extra, which can add unnecessary stress to your body. Limiting your caffeine, alcohol and nicotine consumption will also improve your health.

Conservative Treatment Options for Quadriceps Muscle Strains and Tears

After proper diagnosis of a quadricep strain or tear, your doctor will assess your particular case and determine a course of action. In most cases, a conservative treatment protocol will be enough to heal the injury, though in cases such as significant tearing or a fully ruptured muscle, surgery is pretty much a guarantee. It is generally understood by doctors and surgeons, that surgery will introduce more scar tissue into the any already damaged tissue. This added scar tissue will be problematic, requiring more physical therapy and conservative treatment options post-surgery. If not dealt with properly, your quad muscle injury could end up in worse condition than before the surgery! This is why surgery is only performed as a last resort.

Some conservative treatment examples include:

• Rest - This is important for initial healing to reduce pain, swelling and inflammation in the early stage of your muscle injury. Without an appropriate amount of rest you are at risk for increased swelling, pain and further injury of the quadriceps muscles and tendons. However, too much rest can also be harmful as joint immobility can actually cause stiffening, overcompensation and atrophy (shortening & wasting away of soft tissue). This is why rest should be used when reducing initial pain and swelling, but should not be considered for more long-term conservative treatment.
• Avoid Activities that Caused Your Quadriceps Injury - While resting your leg, it's important to avoid activities that may have caused your symptoms, including any repetitive or strenuous leg / knee movement. This may include reduced activities in your job if that has caused your quadriceps injury. Continuing on with regular activities can increase the severity of your injury, turning a mild to moderate case of muscle strain/spasm into serious damage, leading to a greater need for surgery. Continuing on with regular activities will not only make your injury worse, but trying to 'work around' your injury will eventually give rise to over-compensation injuries in other areas of your body.
• Use a Cold Compress or Ice Pack - Cold is very effective at reducing pain and inflammation - use at the onset of the injury and during flareups.
• Use a TShellz^® Circulatory Boost Wrap once the swelling is down - You can use your own blood flow to maximize your rehabilitation, maintain healthy blood flow to your soft tissue, decrease recovery time, and reduce re-injury risk. Promoting blood flow to the injury using a warming treatment will help to minimize the growth of scar tissue and increase flexibility. This is why we recommend TShellz Wrap before undergoing activity - an increase in flexibility should help reduce risk of further injury while also assisting in the battle against atrophy. Heat via the TShellz Wrap^® is especially helpful in dealing with chronic tendon & muscle injuries or on-going pain and stiffness from a strained quadriceps.
• Avoid Over Compensating for your Injury on your "'Healthy' (Non-Injured) Side - Many people will start limping or carrying objects with their opposite arm to compensate for their tendon injury. Our bodies can adapt easily to any changes, including a tendonitis injury. This quick adaptation could mean that you're already compensating for your injury without even knowing it!
  
  When you compensate for your injury by using your opposite ('healthy') arm, leg, shoulder, knee, foot, etc. - then you are putting more weight and pressure on that side of your body. In many cases, your dominant side was injured (if you're right-handed this would be your right side) so your weaker side is trying to pick up the slack! The pain, stiffness, swelling and inflammation you then get on your 'healthy' side is something referred to as 'over-compensation pain'. Over-compensating for your injury can lead to other injuries and so that's why over compensation should be avoided at all costs OR treated with the same conservative treatment methods as your tendon injury.
• Physical Therapy - Surgery is usually the last resort. This means doctors or surgeons typically won't perform a surgery until they feel that their patient has put effort into treating their injury with conservative treatment methods. This may include up to 4 to 6 months of physical therapy. If you haven't experienced any improvement in your condition during that time then surgery may be considered. Agressive physical therapy approaches will focus on forced or manual manipulation of the leg - this means your physical therapists will be trying to extend your leg past the point of comfort as they strive to increase range of motion and prevent further atrophy.
• Stretching - Stretching your quads in PT and at home will help you to regain your range of motion much faster than not stretching at all. Stretching in many ways is key maintaining good Range of Motion (ROM) in your joint(s), and stretching can be made much easier with use of a TShellz Wrap^® before to warm up soft tissue, and a Cold Compress or Ice Pack treatment after to prevent any return of swelling and inflammation.

Continue the healing process by resting your leg as much as possible. Limit movements that may aggravate your quadricep muscles, leading to reinjury. Muscle related injuries can easily turn from a grade 1 quad muscle strain into a grade 2 or a grade 2 into a grade 3 leg injury if proper care and attention is not followed.

Grade 1 Strain/Tear - A Typical recommendation would be to walk with the use of partial weight bearing crutches and some type of bracing to prevent deep extension on the knee (which would potentially strain the quad muscle). Resting from activities that aggravate your quadriceps muscle should be about 3 weeks.

Grade 2 Strain/Tear - Usually, the knee would be immobilized to prevent quad muscle extension to allow the muscle fibers to heal. Physical therapy program with stretching exercises will be essential once out of the cast/brace before returning to activity. Resting from activities that aggravate your quadricep muscle should be about 4 to 8 weeks.

Grade 3 Strain/Tear - The knee would probably be immobilized (as mentioned previously with a Grade 2 strain/tear). Rest from activities that aggravate your quad muscle would probably last from 6 to 12 weeks.

A General 3 Stage Protocol for Quadriceps Strain Home Recovery

Stage 1: If the injury is very recent - use a good quality cold pack and Arnica Pain Relief Cream.

Note: If you are suffering from a tendinosis injury that has been going on for awhile, then skip the cold treatment as inflammation will be minimal. Anytime you are experiencing significant pain, you may find our Arnica Infusion Pain Relief Cream to be quite helpful.

If you are experiencing pain and swelling in the very early stages of the injury (first 48 to 72 hours), the first step in a conservative treatment protocol would be to focus on reducing the discomfort by applying a quality cold pack to the injured muscle along with a high quality pain relief cream such as our Arnica Infusion Cream.

Not only will you use your cold pack for the first 48 to 72 hours after the injury, but you should also use it during other stages of the healing process. Some examples include...

• after any activity that stresses the back, neck or shoulders in a moderate way. It is wise to quickly apply cold to not only reduce the pain, but to also minimize tissue damage that may have occurred during the prior event.
• If you have a job that requires you to place some demands on your injured shoulder and back. If that is the case, use cold immediately following work and if the opportunity allows - use it for 15 to 20 minutes during lunch or another break time.
• If you are in a post-operative situation where cold compression would be utilized heavily for at least the first few weeks following the procedure. Similarly, if you are scheduled for upcoming surgery, then you will need a Cold Compress or Ice Pack to use.

Having a Cold Compress or Ice Pack available at home to use if and when the need arises is helpful. Many of you already do so.

However, too many people over-focus on cold treatments while ignoring the most critical aspect to healing - nourishing injured tissue with a healthy supply of blood flow, as this is needed to repair and rebuild injured tissues.

This leads to the most important recommendation...

Stage 2: Focus On Increasing Blood Flow To The Quadriceps & Surrounding Area - As Bloodflow Is The Key To Long-Term Healing

Even though the concept is simple, improving blood flow to injured tissues can be difficult. Traditional methods require your muscle to move to promote blood flow (exercise), but that same motion that promotes blood flow can at times lead to making your pain and condition worse.

• Have you re-injured your muscle tear by returning to work too quickly?
• How many times in the past have you aggravated your leg or knee just trying to perform basic tasks around the home?
• Is your injury preventing you from work or activities you love to do?

Most people we deal with tell us these scenarios have happened to them many times in the past. Perhaps it has already happened to you.

Promoting blood flow within a muscle or soft tissue injury to help the body heal itself is a concept that has been utilized for centuries. This is where the focus has to be if you are seeking long-term improvement.

Oxygen and nutrients, carried within the blood, are critical for the body to heal itself. Without proper blood flow, recovering from an injury or condition will be delayed...sometimes for a very long period of time.

The real challenge is how do you promote blood flow to muscles and tendons in the leg, groin, knee and hip without causing further injury? This goal is further complicated by the fact that your legs are involved in lot of strenuous and/or repetitive movements performed each day.

We know that heat increases blood flow in soft tissue in the application area. This means ligaments, muscles, and tendons. Increased blood flow, combined with heat results in relaxation of the vessel walls. The vessels then gently expand, allowing for more nutrient rich blood flow along with extra oxygen to reach the damaged tissues. Plus, the enhanced blood flow helps in flushing waste and fluid build-up from the injury site - further enhancing the ability of the body to heal.

Now that the importance of localized enhanced blood flow has been established, we should talk about the TShellz Wrap^®.

4 Key Points To Keep in Mind When Treating Your Upper Leg Muscles

We Receive Calls All the Time From Customers Who Simply Want To Thank Us For Introducing Them To Our Amazing Products!

Let me tell you, we appreciate all the feedback we have received over the years. We have had many medical professionals, athletes and everyday people call and write to tell us about their positive experiences with our devices and the company in general. It never gets old hearing about the successes and it provides us with the motivation to continue doing what we do best - provide individuals with options to heal from the comfort of their own home.

The Reasons For Our High Success Rate - Our Customers!

We never claim our products will work for everyone. That is simply impossible to achieve. Everyone has a different capacity for healing and different circumstances behind their injuries and/or conditions.

In addition, some people may have a hard time sticking with recommended protocol in order to achieve benefits from our devices. Quite simply, our clients that have had successful outcomes have made a small effort to invest 60 minutes a day into the program. If you do the same, chances are you will be very happy with the outcome.

Right after you place an order, email us and we will have a plan developed immediately so you will be able to get started upon arrival of your parcel. We can't promise you miraculous results, however, we do promise to do everything we can to help you with your condition.

Right after you place an order, email us and we will have a plan developed immediately so you will be able to get started upon arrival of your parcel. We can't promise you miraculous results, however, we do promise to do everything we can to help you with your condition.

Everything you have read up to now has hopefully given you some hope.

However, words are meaningless unless a company stands strongly behind the products they sell. This is what sets us apart from others...we offer people a comprehensive, 60 day, full 100% money back guarantee. We take on all of the risk because we know our products work well for the overwhelming majority of people who purchase them.

We Will Support You Every Step of the Way

You are never alone when making a purchase from us. When we say we stand behind our products, we truly mean it!

If any question or concern arises, simply send us an email at any time (we check our emails constantly all throughout the day and night - even on holidays!). We will respond as soon as possible.

Simply call toll free 1-866-237-9608 to place an order with one of our knowledgeable Product Advisers. They have the ability to answer all your questions...ensuring you only receive the products you need.

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We Can Get You Started For Less Than The Cost Of A Few Physical Therapy Treatments

Think about it – you can now have the ability to treat your pain from the comfort of your own home while saving money in the process.

Best of all, you are fully protected when making a purchase from us as we offer a no-hassle 60 day, full money back guarantee.

The Next Step Is Up To You!

Living with pain is never easy as it affects your entire lifestyle. Nothing is more important than making the proper decision when it comes to treating your muscle injury. Most methods only mask the problems or provide temporary relief; they do not treat the pain at its source.

AidMyMuscle stands out in this regard as our goal is to help you heal for the longer-term.

The bottom line is, you are welcome to try our products for a full 2 months. If you do not receive the benefits that others have experienced after using the product as directed, simply call us to initiate a return and we will issue a prompt & full refund. There will be no hassle and no hard feelings.

The fastest option you have to get our product into your hands as soon as possible is by placing your order online - at this very moment..

Place your order on-line through our ultra-secure website by clicking the image below.

Or, Call Our Office. We are open Monday to Friday to allow you place an order over the phone. Simply call toll free 1-866-237-9608 to place an order with one of our knowledgeable Product Advisors. They have the ability to answer all your questions...ensuring you only receive the products you need.

North America Toll Free 1-866-237-9608
Outside North America +1-705-532-1671

If you choose to order through our online shop, know that we keep no credit card data on file. Once the transaction is completed, the credit information disappears from our internal systems.

As you can see, ordering from us is a very easy and safe process, no matter if choosing to order on-line or over the phone.

MendMeShop Achilles TShellz Wrap^®

Suffering from Achilles Tendonitis? This wrap is designed to treat lower calf and achilles location specifically.

For consistently active people with chronic achilles injury history, (ie. skiers, runners) we recommend an Achilles TShellz Wrap treatment prior to activity for re-injury risk reduction.

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MendMeShop Arnica Infusion Pain Relief Cream

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MendMeShop Leg TShellz Wrap^®

Augment your recovery while reducing risk of re-injury. A Leg TShellz application is intended to:

• increase extensibility & flexibility of muscles & other connective tissue in the leg during treatment & for a short while after
• increase blood flow in the application area

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Are you still unsure about placing an order? let me address some questions that may causing some hesitation...

What is the success rate of the TShellz Wraps^®? Do they really work?

We try and keep in touch with a large percentage of our customers, and we encourage them to do the same. In doing so, we have received a lot of feedback as we have been in the business since 2008.

We can say that the return rate on our products is only around 5 to 10% any given month. That is exceptional by anyone's standards. Therefore, we can safely indicate that the overwhelming majority of people who purchase from us do achieve benefits with our products.

How much time do I need to dedicate for treatments? Are the products easy to use?

The TShellz Wraps^® are very easy devices to use. After one or two uses, you will engage in the treatments with ease. Very detailed instructions are included and you are always welcome to contact us by phone or email if the need for help arises.

In regards to the TShellz Wrap^®, it is ideal to use the device two or three times a day on average. Each treatment session is a maximum of 20 minutes in duration and the device will turn off automatically at that time. Typically, people use the TShellz Wrap^® before bed, upon awakening (or not long after) and one other time during the day when the opportunity presents itself. For people in an office setting, many will use the device at work (as it can be worn over clothing). For others, they will use the device an our or two after work.

A Cold Compress or Ice Pack is primarily used following activity that stresses the injured tissues (following work, after a sports activity, or just suffering a general re-injury). This is done to reduce inflammation and to minimize tissue damage. Treatments are 15 to 20 minutes in duration.

How long has MendMeShop been in business

We established our firm in December of 2005. Our track record in this field continues to grow and we plan on being around for many decades to come.

What is your return policy? Is it the standard 30 days?

We go above and beyond what other companies offer - we offer a full 60 day money back guarantee with no restocking fees.

AidMyMuscle advisors do not work on commission, so be assured you will only receive fair and objective information.

A TShellz Wrap^® application is intended to:

• Calm Inflammation
• Reduce Swelling
• Soften Scar Tissue
• Increase Range of Motion
• Stop Pain
• Promote Blood Flow
• Speed Healing
• Prevent Atrophy

You will notice significantly reduced pain and an incredible improvement in your leg, hip, and knee range of motion.

During your recovery, you may have to modify and/or eliminate any activities that cause pain or discomfort in your quadriceps until your pain and inflammation settle. The more dedicated you are with your treatment and rehabilitation, the faster you will see successful results!

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