Ouch My Knee!! [Part 4]

Pain in Zone 3 could possibly be caused by quadriceps tendinitis. Quadriceps tendinitis is not as common as some other conditions, however, this condition could cause some serious pain while running and jumping.

The quadriceps are a very large muscle group which are made up of four different heads (illustrated below). 

 The quadriceps are primarily used to extend the knee into a straight position, but are used in basically all standing or dynamic movements (like jumping, sprinting, running, walking). The quadriceps are literally the most important muscles in the leg. This huge muscle group that is so important to all movement of the knee attaches to a very small bone called the patella. 

We have talked about the patella at length in other blogs so I encourage you to read parts 1-3 of this series. One interesting part of the patella tendon is that it is what is called a “floating bone” meaning that the patella or “knee cap” has no ligamentous connection to any other bone. Most bones are connected to other bones through ligaments but the patella actually just "floats" on top of the knee connected to the body only though tendons [Just as a side, tendons connect bone to muscle, whereas, ligaments  generally connect bone to bone].

Because the patella does not have any ligamentous connection it is a very unstable bone that is affected by outside forces such as the quadriceps. The attachment of the quadriceps on the patella is called the patella tendon (muscle to bone).  

What does quad tendinitis feel like?

• Pain right above the patella with running, jumping, squatting
• Swelling in the area above patella
• Pain when rubbing quad tendon

What causes quad tendinitis?

• Lack of stretching of the quadriceps
• Lack of warming up of said muscle group
• Inappropriate progression of exercise program

What is another condition that could be confused with quad tendinitis?

 A quad strain could be confused with quadriceps tendinitis. A quadriceps strain will cause pain in the thigh could be located anywhere along the quadriceps muscles.

What are some treatments?

Resting and ice are a good first step, but all painful activities should be stopped. Stretching and modification to exercise should be considered when returning to exercise routine. Of course physical therapy is a good option if pain does not improve in 3 weeks.