The large muscle groups of the thigh are the powerhouses behind walking, running, and jumping activities and are vital components in maintaining normal hip and knee range of motion. The thigh also contains the largest and longest bone in the human body.
Thigh Injuries - Thigh Pain
Anatomy Of The Thigh
The thigh is the uppermost portion of the lower extremity. The anterior side of the thigh is situated between the knee and pelvis. The posterior portion of the thigh is situated between the back of the knee and the gluteal region.
The one bone of the thigh is called the femur (thighbone). The head of the femur forms part of the hip joint and the bottom of the femur forms part of the knee joint. There are several bony processes that project from the femur. The greater trochanter is the large process that serves as the insertion site of the gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, piriformis, and obturator internus. The lesser trochanter, another large process of the femur, is the insertion site of psoas major and iliopsoas tendons. The cruciate ligaments, which are the main stabilizers of the knee, attach to the femur and travel across the knee joint before attaching to tibia (shinbone).
The thigh area contains three large groups of strong muscles. The hamstring muscle group, which consists of the semimembranosus, semitendinosus, short head biceps femoris, and long head biceps femoris muscles, is at the back of the thigh and is responsible for flexing the knee and extending the hip. One lateral and two medial tendons connect the hamstring muscles to the knee. The quadriceps muscle group, which consist of the vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, and rectus femoris muscles, is at the front of the thigh and is responsible for extending the knee. The rectus femoris also assists in hip flexion. The quadriceps unite to form a common quadriceps tendon that inserts into the patella (kneecap). The adductor muscle group, which consists of the pectineus, adductor longus, adductor brevis, adductor magnus, and gracilis muscles, is located at the inner thigh (groin area) and works to pull the legs together.
What Causes Thigh Pain?
Pain is the way the body alerts us that a structure isn't performing or working normally. Sometimes the source of thigh pain may be from pain in another area of the body, such as the lower back, radiating to the thigh. Sciatica is a good example of radiating pain. However, pain in the thigh is often the result of repetitive use, misuse, traumatic injury, disease process, or a degenerative process of one or more of the structures in the thigh.
Those participating in sport and exercise activities requiring brisk accelerations or decelerations of speed, kicking, and cutting; that suddenly change the frequency, duration, or intensity of physical activity or exercise; and that have an imbalance, weakness, or tightness in their thigh muscles are at particular risk of injuring their thigh.
What Are Some Common Thigh Injuries?
By far, the most common thigh injuries are thigh strains and contusions.
Thigh Strains And Pulls
Strains are also commonly referred to as pulled muscles. A strain of one of the hamstring muscles or tendons is called a hamstring strain or pulled hamstring. A strain of one of the adductor muscles or tendons is called an adductor muscle strain or pulled groin. A strain of one of the quadriceps muscles or tendons is called a quadriceps strain or pulled quadriceps.
A thigh strain is the abnormal stretching or tearing of one or more muscles and/or tendons in the thigh. Most strains occur at the point where the muscle fibers and tendon fibers blend or join (musculotendinous junction). This stretching or tearing can occur suddenly during a traumatic injury, such as a direct hit to the thigh during play, an accident, or a fall. It may also occur over time due to repetitive use or degeneration of the muscle or tendon fibers. Strains are graded based on the degree of injury to the affected muscle. In a grade one strain, fibers are abnormally stretched and possibly have microscopic tearing, but the muscle/tendon function remains intact. In a grade two hamstring strain, fibers are partial torn and muscle/tendon function is limited. A grade three hamstring strain involves extensive to complete tearing of the fibers and significant to complete loss of muscle/tendon function.
Thigh Contusions
Contusions are bruises that occur from a direct impact to the soft tissue of the thigh. If the impact is great enough, the bone may also be bruised. The hamstrings and adductors can certainly suffer a direct impact, but thigh contusions most often involve the quadriceps region. In fact, quadriceps contusions are among the most common sport-related injuries.
The force of the impact causes the quadriceps to be pressed or crushed into the femur. This damages the small capillaries near the muscle. The damaged capillaries leak blood into the interstitial and muscle tissues. Like strains, contusions are graded based on the degree of injury. A grade one contusion is a superficial injury that produces mild tenderness and bruising. There usually isn’t any visible swelling and the quadriceps maintain full ability to extend the knee. A grade two contusion is deeper than a grade one and produces more moderate pain, tenderness, swelling, and bruising. There may be some difficulty extending the knee. A grade three contusion is the most severe. It involves severe pain, swelling, bruising, and muscular limitation.
Strengthening Exercises
These Thigh Exercises are ideal to build strength and flexibility.
Massage Treatment
These Thigh Massage Techniques are of great value in pain relief; circulation stimulation; dispersing blood and fluid accumulations; swelling reduction; and relaxing muscle spasms, especially when used alongside the Sinew Therapeutics liniments and soaks.
ACUTE STAGE SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT
This stage is characterized by swelling, redness, pain, and possibly a local sensation of heat, indicating inflammation. If coolness makes your pain feel better, then the Acute Stage Treatment is recommended.
ACUTE STAGE SYMPTOMS:
The acute stage starts the moment an injury occurs and lasts until the swelling and inflammation are gone. The swelling is the result of the blockage of blood, tissue fluids and circulation in the thigh because their normal movement has been disrupted by the force of the injury. Just like cars back up behind a traffic jam, causing congestion, exhaust and overheating; blood and fluids back up behind the injured thigh, causing pain, inflammation, lumps and swelling.
The sensation of heat is due to the warming action of the blood and fluids overheating in the injured thigh as they back up and accumulate. Stiffness and decreased mobility are due to spasms in tendons and ligaments that have contracted reflexively beyond their normal range from the impact of the injury.
As ligaments and tendons stretch and tear, blood from ruptured blood vessels becomes trapped in the local tissues. As the trapped blood clots up, it sticks the tissues together creating adhesions. Adhesions cause pain, inflammation and restricted movement because the layers of tissue that used to slide smoothly across one another now adhere and snap which interferes with normal functioning. It is essential to break up clotted blood as quickly as possible to prevent adhesions and scar tissue from forming.
During the acute stage it is very important to restore normal circulation to the thigh, break up clotted blood and stagnant fluids, reduce swelling, and reduce the redness and heat associated with inflammation. By restoring the flow of blood, fluids, and circulation in the thigh, then pain is relieved, damaged tissues can regenerate with healthy functional tissue, and the thigh can strengthen and regain it's mobility.
ACUTE STAGE TREATMENT:
1. Apply the Sinew Herbal Ice on your thigh to reduce redness, swelling, and inflammation while dispersing accumulated blood and fluids to help restore normal circulation to the thigh. This first-aid treatment is used in place of ice to significantly speed up the healing process. It reduces the swelling and inflammation more effectively than ice, allowing you to more quickly regain range of motion. Acute Sinew Liniment can be used in-between applications.
Ice is not recommended because it does not help repair damaged tissues and keeps everything in the injured area frozen, causing the stagnation of blood and fluids and the contraction of muscles, tendons and ligaments. In Chinese sports medicine ice is not used and is considered a culprit in injuries that don’t heal well.
2. Massage your thigh with Acute Sinew Liniment to relieve pain, reduce swelling and inflammation, break up clotted blood and stagnant fluids, and stimulate circulation of blood and fluids to help cells quickly repair damaged tissues. Sinew Herbal Ice can be used in-between applications.
3. The Sinew Sports Massage Oil is recommended for use before and after exercise, sports and strenuous activity. It warms and stimulates your muscles, increases circulation and relieves tightness, hence improving your performance and helping to prevent injury.
CHRONIC STAGE SYMPTOMS AND TREATMENT
This stage begins once the swelling and inflammation are gone, but you still feel pain, stiffness, weakness, and/or sensitivity in cold and damp weather. If heat makes your pain feel better, then the Chronic Stage Treatment is recommended.
CHRONIC STAGE SYMPTOMS:
The chronic stage begins once the swelling and inflammation are gone, but you still feel aching pain and stiffness. This is because there are still accumulations of stagnant blood and fluids in your thigh that are blocking circulation and blood supply to damaged tissues, creating residual pain, stiffness and weakness. You may actually feel hard nodules like sand in the tissue, indicating accumulation, calcification, and adhesions, which all cause pain, stiffness, and joint instability.
Your thigh may feel more sensitive to the cold and ache in cold and damp weather due to impaired circulation. When you move your thigh you may hear a clicking or popping sound from the tendons and ligaments slipping very slightly in and out of their natural alignment indicating weakness and joint instability, causing chronic pain and a cycle of reinjury. These symptoms are often the result of failure to treat the injury properly from the outset and overicing.
Increasing circulation and blood supply to the damaged tissues is very important in treating chronic injuries because tendons and ligaments do not have an extensive direct supply of blood. That is why chronic injuries can be slow to heal. Increasing local circulation also prevents cold and dampness from penetrating the injured area, preventing pain and stiffness.
During the chronic stage it is very important to break up remaining accumulations of blood and fluids, and increase circulation and blood supply to the damaged tissues. By increasing circulation and blood flow in the thigh, then pain and stiffness is relieved, and the tendons and ligaments can strengthen to restore stability.
CHRONIC STAGE TREATMENT:
1. Massage your thigh with Chronic Sinew Liniment to relieve pain and stiffness, strongly stimulate circulation and blood flow to damaged tissues, and promote the healing of overstretched tendons and ligaments. The Sinew Relaxing Soak can be used in-between applications.
2. Soak your thigh with the Sinew Relaxing Soak to relax muscles and tendons that are in spasm, ease joint pain and stiffness, and improve range of motion. The Sinew Relaxing Soak is particularly useful if you feel tightness in your thigh. The soak can be used by saturating a towel in the liquid and applying it to your thigh. Chronic Sinew Liniment can be used in-between applications.
3. The Sinew Sports Massage Oil is recommended for use before and after exercise, sports and strenuous activity. It warms and stimulates your muscles, increases circulation and relieves tightness, hence improving your performance and helping to prevent injury.
