Many athletes are focused on building tremendous quads. They want to have that teardrop look that just pops out and can be seen from miles away. Outside of looking great, this teardrop is a great muscle for performance. It has some significant importance for your athletic performance. I remember as a young powerlifter watching from across the gym at the Olympic lifters who would do some really short step ups and they all have massive teardrops. I asked the coach why they do that and he told me because the vastus medialis is important for squat strength.
Anatomy Of The Vastus Medialis
The quadriceps muscles are the muscles that are on the front part of the thigh (anterior). The vastus medialis is one of the four muscles that make up the quadriceps. The other muscles are the vastus lateralis, vastus intermedius, and the rectus femoris. The vastus medialis is the quadriceps muscle that sits the most medially (inside). It is the muscle that creates a teardrop shape around the knee.
The origin of the muscle is the lower section of the intertrochanteric line, running along the spiral line to the medial lip of the linea aspera. The insertion of the vastus medialis is the medial portion of the quadriceps tendon where the rest of the quad muscles meet.
This muscle is innervated by the femoral nerve coming from L3 and L4 and it is supplied with blood from the femoral artery.
Purpose Of the Vastus Medialis
The vastus medialis is responsible for knee extension alongside the remainder of the quadriceps muscles. It is also believed that the vastus medialis is responsible for proper patellar tracking. The vastus medialis commonly trained by weightlifters to improve their knee stability to improve their ability to explode out of the bottom of a clean or snatch. It is great for improving all athletes ability to maintain a healthy knee.
The vastus medialis is especially important for finishing off knee extension. It is mainly involved in the final stages of standing up or using the stairs. There is a section of the muscle called the VMO (vastus medialis oblique) which is said to be distinct from the rest of the muscle. It is not proven to be so but people believe that it is responsible for this ending stage of the lockout.
How To Treat The Vastus Medialis
If you are unlucky enough to get an injury to your vastus medialis, let us first say that we are sorry you are going through that. However, hopefully, we can give you some tricks and tips to help you get back from this injury. First, before we even get started. If you are in serious pain you need to go and get yourself checked out from your health care provider. If you are having a hard time finding one, then hop onto the 9INE POINT Health App and find someone in your area who can help you get back on the field as soon as possible.
Your ability to treat your vastus medialis is going to depend on how bad your injury is in the first place. If you barely have any range of motion in the knee joint then you need to slowly increase your range of motion.
You accomplish this by doing stretches, as well as heel drop step ups that mimic your current range of motion. Slowly increase that range of motion. Once you have almost all of your range of motion back in your vastus medialis. You can add in some more variations to your training, or treatment.
Many therapists are going to ask you to do some forms of acupuncture, band work, position correction. As well as possible tens therapy and a variety of state of the art things treatments will help increase your ability to get back on the field. So I always suggest getting professional help where ever possible. However, I will add some videos that may help you on your way back.
Injury Prevention Of The Vastus Medialis
We always harp on injury prevention. Prevention of injury is always the best way to combat injury in the first place. Being meticulous in your recovery is going to help you continuously improve as an athlete. You will be able to keep making gains in performance without having to deal with the pain. And heartache of an injury.
When it comes to injury prevention of the vastus medialis you can do a variety of exercises. These will focus on the vastus medialis. You can also get prevention treatment from your health care provider. However here are some exercises that you can do today to help increase the strength of your vastus medialis. These will help bulletproof it from possible injury.
Find The Best Healthcare Providers Using 9INE POINT Health
9INE POINT Health is the best place to start your search for a healthcare provider for a Vastus Medialis injury. 9INE POINT Health lets you search for providers by type and skill. You can look for a Physical Therapist that also knows acupuncture and find the best local options. It does not matter if you need a physical therapist, chiropractor, acupuncturists, sports doctor, registered dietitian, massage therapist or any other form of holistic medicine. 9INE POINT will help you to find and sort through their skills.
If you are unsure where to start your journey, 9INE POINT Health will ask you questions and help you figure out the best starting place. All you have to do is answer a few questions, and 9INE POINT Health will connect you with the type of provider best suited for your needs. It does not matter if you are injured or just sore.
The platform makes it easy to compare health providers as they are all given a 9INE POINT Number. Once you are shown the best local options, how do you know which is the best? Reading bios and reviews is just not enough because you need more than that. The 9INE POINT Number breaks healthcare providers down by engagement, reviews, and insurances accepted. Getting help for your vastus medialis should not be hard.
9INE POINT Health was created by 9INE POINT in '19 as a means to provide athlete-driven resources to "Protect Athletes' Minds, Body and Belly". As well as be a platform for healthcare providers and other specialists to display their knowledge.
