Muscle injuries are extremely common in sports and exercise. Active people often hurt their hamstring, quadriceps, calves and muscle of the upper body. If you strain or tear a muscle, do you need surgery? In this Ask Dr. Geier video, I answer that question for an active person with an injury to his quad muscle.
Paul asks:
My physical therapist says I have a partially torn rectus femoris quad muscle. This was 4 weeks ago. I am now pretty strong and can jog lightly, but the muscle does look deformed somewhat. No real pain, but I want to be able to run and play soccer for many years (I am in my 40s). The PT recommends strengthening further with no surgery. Can you help me understand when surgery is generally called for in such cases.
Generally, muscle injuries, like the quadriceps and hamstrings, do not require surgery if the injury occurs in the muscle belly or at the muscle-tendon junction. If a person pulls the tendon attachment off of the bone, then surgery to reattach the tendon can be necessary.
In this video, I discuss this distinction. I share some ways an active person can know if surgery could be necessary. I also offer thoughts on ways to help a quad muscle injury heal so you can get back to sports and exercise.
Also read:
Ask Dr. Geier: Shoulder pain from the biceps tendon
Ask Dr. Geier: Patellar tendon rupture
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