Rectus Femoris

The rectus femoris muscle is one of four muscles that make up your quadriceps. As you can see in the picture to the left, the rectus femoris is located in the middle of the front part of your thigh and covers most of the other 3 muscles in your quadriceps. The rectus femoris extends from your knee up to your hip and is used to lift your knee up or extend your leg outward from your body. Because this muscle originates in the pelvis it assists in flexion of the hip.

The other muscles in your quadriceps are vastus medialis, vastus intermidius and the vastus lateralis. Each one of these four muscles attach to your knee cap via the quadriceps tendon. The quadriceps is the strongest and leanest muscle in your body. The quadriceps is critical in running, walking, jumping, kicking, and squatting.

Rectus Femoris Injury

The most common type of injury that occurs to this muscle is inflammation or can possibly rupture. The most common cause of these injuries will occur during kicking or explosive movements commonly associated with sprinting. An injury to the rectus femoris is more commonly referred to as a hip flexor strain. This type of injury is almost always acute and will normally only require rest to heal.

Injury Symptoms

• Sharp shooting pains around the front of your hip or groin area while exercising or other athletic activity.
• You may notice some bruising or swelling around the area where the muscle is located.
• IF you experience pain when lifting your knee against resistance.
• You may feel pain when pressing in against the location of the injury.
• If you ruptured the muscle then it would not be possible to contract the muscle.

 Injury Recovery

• Rest the muscle, apply cold therapy.
• Use crutches if helpful.
• See a medical professional.
• Be sure the injury is healed before beginning full activity to avoid reinjuring the muscle before it's fully recovered.

 Rectus Femoris Exercises

Some exercises you can perform to work the rectus femoris include:

• Squats - traditional and front squats
• Walking Lunges
• Clean and Jerk
• Snatch
• Deadlifts

Remember before doing any type of exercise you should always stretch the muscles you intend to workout. This is very important to help avoid injury and can also be helpful during rehab. Below is a great video demonstrating a great stretch you can perform for the rectus femoris.