Pulled Quad?

Dr. Frenchenstein

So i did something to my quad a few weeks ago and it will NOT go away. I don't remember exactly what i did, but there is basically a knot in my thigh. It hurts to walk on it for a while, and as soon as the constant pain goes away, i seem to reinjure it. I play kickball twice a week, and do P90 every day (well, i stopped doing p90 this weekend, as i think that is part of the problem of it not healing completely).

I try to stretch it out when i can, but i'm not sure if i should be doing that. Do i need to hit up a sports medicine place or something? or do i just need to skip a week or two of kickball and let the damn thing heal completely?

mts

you need to actually let it rest.

when you say knot i am assuming you mean just feel the pain and there is not actually a balled up know of muscle where your quad should be

Dr. Frenchenstein

when i reinjure it, there is an actual knot of muscle that hurts. The knot goes away fairly quickly but the pain is lingering.

big l

Massage ought to fix or at least very much help this. One good painful session with a pro ought to help a lot, I expect you could take it yourself from there by doing foam rolling. Foam rolling is basically using a big hard piece of foam (they sell these for not too much) to massage out knots and scars in the fascia.

Telex

Don't do anything at all that could aggravate it for 1-2 weeks or so, just ice and rest and maybe light stretching (WITHOUT PAIN). Then gradually reintroduce exercises/stretches/foam rolling. If it still does the same thing, see a doctor then. Even if you pulled it, the doctor won't tell you to do much else at this point.

Was there a specific instance where you hurt it, or did it just kind of come on? What were you doing when it first hurt? It is possible that there is a more serious tear considering the localized pain, but generally there will be a specific injury point - ie a "I was sprinting and suddenly got a sharp pain in my quad and couldn't lift my leg" kind of thing.

(I'm not a doctor, but have had lots of sports injuries)

Kakodaimonos

Dr. Frenchenstein wrote: »

when i reinjure it, there is an actual knot of muscle that hurts. The knot goes away fairly quickly but the pain is lingering.

If there's a physical knot that tightens, it's probably a minor tear. Did you hear or feel any sort of pop when it happened? Can you flex your quad without pain? (Hold your leg out straight and try to contract the quad.) If it really hurts when you do that, you should look at seeing a Dr. or PT.

Otherwise, rest and avoid pushing it. Don't stop everything, but stick with low impact routines and avoid sudden starts/stops. It's going to take a looooooong time to heal up properly (like 2-3 months).

Dr. Frenchenstein

no pops when it happens, just my thigh tenses up and takes a bit to unbunch. I think i may take a week off from sports and see how i am. I was just worried that stretching might make it worse, or that i really should go see a Doc.

mts

no stretching is good, i would say mild exercise is ok. muscle needs blood flow to heal so i say keep active, just tone it done a lot.