The Quadriceps Femoris – the team of four

The name of our mighty thigh muscle comes from the meaning ‘four-headed’ and that’s exactly what it is. Vastus intermedius is the long forgotten quadriceps team player, squashed in the centre of the thigh by it’s other team-mates - vastus lateralis at the outer side and vastus medialis on the inner side of the thigh with rectus femoris lying on top. Together, the quads are a force to be reckoned with. But how can we best use the force, not lose the force?

Working together as a team

Responsible for straightening the knee – all four quads contribute to knee stability and all of our basic everyday functions like sitting to standing (and vice versa), walking, climbing stairs etc - but vastus medialis, in particular, helps with tracking, and the final locking of the kneecap in place as we stand, so that our knee doesn’t buckle from underneath us. Rectus femoris also flexes the hip, enabling footballers to stretch out that long kick towards the all-important goal. And the combined force of the quads propels sprinters forwards at every step. But what are the concerns about the quads and why do we need to exercise them?

 

Achieving the right balance

To counteract the quads are the hamstrings – found at the back of the thigh and having the role of bending the knee and straightening the hip. While some sports – cycling, sprinting, football and basketball for example – are fantastic for improving quads power, other sports are recognized for developing hamstring functionality better than quads function, and this can result in muscle imbalance causing problems later at the knee joint. For instance, an endurance runner, placing little demand on the quads, may have generally stronger hamstrings than quads, which is why long distance runners are advised to do regular quads strength training outside of running. The vastus medialis is particularly vulnerable to muscle wasting even due to short-lived inactivity if it’s not regularly put through its paces - and it’s often quite difficult to isolate for targeted strength training. All of these factors point to the importance of exercising the quads outside of regular sport training. So how can diPulse help?

 

diPulse and quads activity

Since all of the quadriceps extend the knee, they are individually active during different cycles of this movement. For instance, unless you are providing the knee with high resistance when it’s in a ‘close-to-straight-position’, you won’t be giving vastus medialis the attention it deserves. And we have already explained why loading joints with heavy weights isn’t such a great idea! So the answer is simple - Combined Muscle Training (CMT)! Exercising in conjunction with NMES.

diPulse garments provide many simple solutions for quads stimulation during exercise. We know that our products allow for wire-free exercise while your muscles are receiving high-quality contractions with the help of the SMARTSTIM modules.

 Using the diPulse KNEE SLEEVE or SMARTTIGHTS to activate targeted quads muscle fibres during a free exercise session will give your quads the extra workout they need to recruit those all-important Type II muscle fibres for power and stability - all without adding weights to your joint. The strength of the quads is critical and as we age, losing these muscle fibres is a natural process and one we need to continually work against. So which programs should you use?

 

diPulse App

Once you have downloaded the diPulse app onto your smartphone, you’ll be spoilt for choice regarding our programs - the Sports & Fitness, Cool-down & Muscle Revival, or Massage & Wellbeing sections signpost you towards your objectives. The simplicity lies in first identifying your goals which will determine which program you need. As an example for the quads, why not start with the 3 minute Power Warm-Up, followed by the 31-minute Hypertrophy session for increasing muscle mass while you train. Post-training, this can be supplemented by Capillarization for swift removal of lactic acid and other metabolites so that you’re ready and fresh for your next workout!

So whether your objective is to score more goals on the pitch, increase your uphill cycling speed or simply halt the muscle ageing process, we are confident that diPulse has you covered.

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References:

Torres, G, Armanda-Cortes, E, Rueda, J, San Juan, A.F and Navarro, E (2021) “Comparison of Hamstrings and Quadriceps Muscle Activation in Male and Female Professional Soccer Players”, Applied Sciences, 11;738, pp 1-13

Wang, C, Li, T.J and Zheng, Y.P (2014) “Shear Modulus Estimation on Vastus Intermedius of Elderly and Young Females over the Entire Range of Isometric Contraction”, PLoS ONE, 9 (7), pp 1-11