What are the Quadriceps?

The quadriceps (quads – Beeble) are the muscles that run down the front of our thighs. They are the largest and strongest group of muscles in our body. As the name suggests it is a group of 4 muscles hence “quad”. These are known individually as Vastus Lateralis, Vastus Medialis, Vastus Intermedius and last but not least the largest of the four Rectus Femoris. The first 3 muscles help straighten the leg at the knee joint and whilst rectus femoris does this as well, it also helps raise the leg up at the hip joint. (Muscles that work over 2 joints are known as biaxial muscles – Beeble).

What do we use them for?

The quads are the main muscles used in the legs and are needed in running, jumping, squatting, lunging, cycling, swimming and all sports that use your legs. It is because of this that nearly all of us, who are able bodied, have relatively strong quads as we use them any time we use our legs.

Is stretching them important?

It is important to stretch all muscles but these need to be stretched especially as we are using them so much. The more you use a muscle the shorter it becomes; this is caused by all the contracting. This is made worse because after using our legs we often sit down, which keeps them in one position. This will shorten the Vastus group a little but it will really shorten the Rectus Femoris as the hip joint is left in a much shorter position when we are seated.

What can happen if we don’t stretch the Quads?

With the muscles getting tighter the main issue is injury through a muscle tear. Imagine the muscle as a very stretched-out rubber band which has very little elasticity. This has a lot less play in it and so if it is suddenly stretched further, like having to run, then it could potentially tear. With the muscle so tight it can also effect your knee cap or patella. All the quad muscles join through the patella and so can pull it out of line and make the knee a lot weaker and under constant pressure. Having a tight Rectus Femoris will also cause these things but it will also pull your pelvis down at the front which will affect your back. Finally your muscles don’t work alone and so if one group of muscles is particularly tight it won’t be long before the rest follows. This can lead to a lot of physical problems and you will become an injury waiting to happen.

What can you do?

Stretch of course! So we are going to go through a few simple stretches that you can do by yourself that will help to keep injuries at bay.

The Standing Quad Stretch

This is an easy stretch for people whose quadriceps muscles are not too tight. It requires you to pick your leg up behind you and hold your foot with your hand. You will feel a slight stretch already if your legs are tight. Now gently pull you foot in towards your bum. As you do this you should feel the stretch begin to increase down the front of your leg. Only go as far as the point where you feel the stretch in the middle of the muscle and not at either the knee or the hip. If you feel it at the either end of your leg then you have gone too far and must relax and take your foot further away until the stretch is back in the middle of your leg.

When you have the stretch in the right place then we use a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being absolutely no stretch at all and 10 being very painful. I would like you to stretch it to a 6 or 7 where it should feel like a strong pull but without any pain. When you have it there then hold it for 1 minute and then repeat the process on your other leg. For those of you who are very flexible and can easily get your foot to your bum, then whilst in the stretch aim to push your knee backwards behind your hips and push your hips forward. This will help increase the stretch.

•    Feel the stretch in the centre of the muscle
•    Breathe
•    Do not stretch to hard

The Kneeling Quad Stretch

This version of the stretch is particularly good for people with very tight quads and who cannot perform the standing version. Kneel on the floor (find a soft bit of carpet or use an exercise mat – Beeble) with your upper legs vertical and at 90 degrees to your lower legs (see the diagram – Beeble). Now very slowly sit back onto your feet, you should feel the stretch in the front of the thighs. If you feel a pull around the knee or hip then you have gone too far and you will need to come up. It maybe advisable to use a chair for support if you find it difficult to control the movement. If you are able to sit onto your feet and have only a slight stretch, then lean back at the hips putting your hands out on the floor behind you for support. This will increase the stretch and you too are looking for a 6 to 7 out of 10 feeling of a stretch (a strong pull but no pain – Beeble). Hold this stretch for 1 minute and remember to breathe!

•    Feel the stretch in the centre of the muscle
•    Breathe
•    Do not stretch too hard
•    Use a chair for support

The Best Quad Stretch

I call this the best quad stretch because it really is the best (good name then – Beeble). It is the best because it works the muscle as a whole by extending the distance at the hip joint and the knee joint. All right, to be more precise, this is the best stretch for the Rectus Femoris and so should be added in your stretching routine along with one of the 2 above. If you are struggling with the above stretches then you may find this too hard until you have lengthened the muscles a bit more, so add it to your list of things to do and only do it when you can do it properly.

The technique of this one is very simple; have one leg in front of you so your foot is on the ground and your knee is at 90 degrees (as in the diagram – Beeble). Your other leg should be beneath your body with the knee on the ground and your lower leg out behind you. In exercises we make 90 degrees the safe angle in stretching we sometimes need to change it to aid the stretch. So in this case your lower knee (the one with your weight on – Beeble) should be slightly behind the vertical line of your body, creating a small stretch at the front of your hip. When I say small stretch it should be a 2 or 3 on the 1 to 10 scale, so you can only just about feel it. Next with one hand grab the foot that is behind you and pull it towards your bum. You will find that it gets tight much quicker than the standing one as we have already started stretching it from the hip. Importantly you must keep your upper body completely upright on this exercise. The temptation is to lean forwards but don’t as this will completely ruin the whole point of the stretch.

•    Feel the stretch in the centre of the muscle
•    Breathe
•    Do not stretch too hard
•    Keep upper body upright
•    Keep lower knee behind your hips

Summary…

These Quadricep muscles need to be stretched daily and, dare I say, twice or more daily. Stretching should be made an essential part of your daily lives to help avoid injury and to keep your muscles long, lean and supple. Let me know how your get on and if you need any help just drop us an email, which you will find on the contact Beeble section.

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This entry was Posted on Wednesday, July 4th, 2007 at 1:18 pm and is filed under Stretching. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.