Recurring quad strain

[throneof]

For 18 months my quad has been going through a vicious cycle of healing and getting hurt. I know I tried to push it hard too soon and have put myself in this predicament. It is frustrating not being able to squat above 135. I think it may be scar tissue that keeps breaking/tearing. I've been advised to get rid of the scar tissue via massage. The injury is accessible, so I've been gently massaging it myself lately along with a TENs unit and a thermo wrap. Any other ideas to accelerate the process? Or must I just bide my time patiently?

 

[love2liftkat]

You are going to have to be patient but you can do some therapy type stuff - mobility, stretching, and exercises to help you recover. Also, I would suggest looking into ART- active release therapy. Here's some info on it but I know MrKleen73 went through quite a bit with some of his injuries.

http://www.activerelease.com/

 

[TheMovement]

For 18 months my quad has been going through a vicious cycle of healing and getting hurt. I know I tried to push it hard too soon and have put myself in this predicament. It is frustrating not being able to squat above 135. I think it may be scar tissue that keeps breaking/tearing. I've been advised to get rid of the scar tissue via massage. The injury is accessible, so I've been gently massaging it myself lately along with a TENs unit and a thermo wrap. Any other ideas to accelerate the process? Or must I just bide my time patiently?

Heat to warm and massage for a good 10mins right after the heat to try and break up that tissue if it is scar tissue but it will help with circulation and the healing process as well. Dont be too nice to it but dont go digging to gold either. After that stretch a little passive prone quad stretching and quad sets for a little to help maintain muscle. Ice afterwards for 10 mins.

Ace wrap before activity and make sure to add the extra time in warming up but dont over do it. A muscle strain combined with over stretching simply doesn't heal for quite some time.

 

[jvandy50]

Get ya a muscle roller off amazon! My quads and hammies love me for it. Like $25. And if it keeps happening you may have to not go so deep I to that squat. It may not be liking that eccentric hard stretch...

 

[throneof]

Get ya a muscle roller off amazon! My quads and hammies love me for it. Like $25. And if it keeps happening you may have to not go so deep I to that squat. It may not be liking that eccentric hard stretch...

I have every mobility tool you could possibly think of. I've been rolling it gently because when I hit too hard it tends feel bad for a day or so. The injury hurts near the top portion of the squat (the ascent). It cramped with 165 last week and I called it there. I'm skipping squats this week as I'm deloading anyways. It actually feels pretty good today just walking and standing on it. Not noticing any dullness at the site. Yesterday I heated it for 20 minutes, gentle massage for 10, and gentle stretching for 5. Hopefully this is the answer for the needed protocol

 

[Rodja]

Occlude the area with a knee wrap. During this, do a series of stretches and MFR for about 2-3 minutes.

 

[throneof]

Occlude the area with a knee wrap. During this, do a series of stretches and MFR for about 2-3 minutes.

I don't have knee wraps, but I do have voodoo floss bands. That should work right?

 

[Rodja]

I don't have knee wraps, but I do have voodoo floss bands. That should work right?

Depends on the length. The red floss band won't be long enough.

 

[throneof]

Depends on the length. The red floss band won't be long enough.

I have the black ones. I tried your suggestion. Opened up my squat tremendously. Just to clarify: I am occluding at the exact injury site when I stretch and mash. I tried to really dig into the quad/adductor with the foam roller. I'm sure it's my sartorius muscle that's injured, as the pain/cramping traces that strip of the leg

 

[Rodja]

I have the black ones. I tried your suggestion. Opened up my squat tremendously. Just to clarify: I am occluding at the exact injury site when I stretch and mash. I tried to really dig into the quad/adductor with the foam roller. I'm sure it's my sartorius muscle that's injured, as the pain/cramping traces that strip of the leg

If you have something similar to The Stick, try that next time as its easier to dig in and apply pressure. They're especially useful if you have calf tightness, which you should also check to make sure it's not pulling the chain out of sequence.

 

[throneof]

If you have something similar to The Stick, try that next time as its easier to dig in and apply pressure. They're especially useful if you have calf tightness, which you should also check to make sure it's not pulling the chain out of sequence.

I have the stick. I find that it doesn't dig in as much as the basic foam roller. I use the battlestar on my calves twice a week along with lats and IT band. The hard beastie on my glutes as well.

 

[Burnfire]

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