Are you a soccer player having pain in the front of your thigh with running and kicking? You may have a quad strain.

The quadriceps (i.e quads) are a group of 4 muscles that run along the front of your thigh and attach below your knee. All these muscles work to straighten your knee and one of the 4 (the rectus femoris) works to pull your knee towards your hip.

A strain to these muscles most often occurs when contracting them in a lengthened position as seen when kicking or sprinting. Symptoms of a quad strain include pain in the front of the thigh and pain with running, kicking, squatting or lunging.

Muscle strains can be assigned different grades:

Grade 1: small tear

Grade 2: large tear

Grade 3: full tear/rupture

While a grade 1 strain may not be painful enough to stop you from playing, care should be taken to avoid the strain from developing into a more severe strain.

Your physiotherapist can help you diagnose a potential quad strain, treat and give you exercises to help you return to sports more quickly and prevent re-injury. Call or book online today!