Quadriceps and leg pain is a common complaint amongst active folks, particularly those who engage in regular cardiovascular exercise. If your quadriceps and legs often hurt during and after exercise, the pain may indicate the need for a more comprehensive warm up. Alternatively, quadriceps and leg pain may relate to an injury such as a muscle pull or iliotibial band syndrome. In more serious cases it may mean you have contracted osteomyelitis.
Warm Up
Quadriceps and leg pain can often be avoided via a thorough warm up. Though sometimes lack of time may tempt you to forgo the warm up and jump right into exercise, this may lead to quadriceps or leg injury over the long term. Trish Schwartz, M.Sc. asserts that a 10-minute warm up of mild aerobic intensity sends more blood to the legs, which provides more oxygen to the quadriceps and other large working muscles and allows the muscles and connective tissues to move more freely, thus reducing the risk of injury.
Muscle Pull
Pain in the quadriceps and legs may mean you have strained one of the quadriceps muscles, or one of your other leg muscles such as the hamstrings. The quadriceps muscles comprise four different muscles --- the rectus femoris, the vastus lateralis, the vastus medialis and the vastus intermedius. In addition to pain, a muscle pull in the quadriceps or leg muscles may be accompanied by swelling and loss of muscle function, and typically responds well to ice and a few days rest. Jessica Matthews, M.S. warns that in many cases muscle pulls can be overuse injuries caused by inadequate rest periods between workouts, particularly in runners.
Iliotibial Band Syndrome
Iliotibial band syndrome is a common leg injury often associated with overtraining. The iliotibial band is a wide swath of fascia that stretches down the outside of the leg and connects in front of the knee. Inflammation in this band of tissue causes pain and loss of function in severe cases. Iliotibial band syndrome responds well to rest, ice and heat. Make sure you rest from training until the pain has completely subsided, and check with your physician if the pain persists.
Osteomyelitis
Osteomyelitis is an infection that originates in the bone. In some cases the infection spreads into the muscles and connective tissues causing pain in the legs. If osteomyelitis is present, other symptoms will accompany the pain including swelling, redness and warmth, fever, excessive sweating and chills. Osteomyelitis requires immediate medical intervention. Antibiotics are prescribed to treat the infection, and in some cases surgery will be needed to remove dead bone tissue.
References
- American Council on Exercise: How Can I Avoid Injury while Working Out?; Trish Schwartz, M.Sc.; October 2010
- American Council on Exercise: What Is Cross Training and Why is it Important?; Jessica Matthews, M.S.; September 2009
- U.S. National Library of Medicine: Osteomyelitis; Dr. David C. Dugdale, III; May 2010
