Quadriceps exercise

Quadriceps is a group of 4 muscles on the front of the thigh. It extends the knee, forming a large fleshy mass which covers the front and sides of the femur and help in walking normally. This muscle gets wasted in conditions of prolonged immobilisation ( due to fractures, ligament injuries etc. when patient is put on a plaster ) or other diseases ( like Tuberculosis of the knee ). Those who sustained a fracture of knee or even leg will know that when they started walking after the plaster is removed a feeling of weakness of leg or "buckling" of knee will be complained. Some people complain about prominence of bone. All these are due to wasting of quadriceps muscle. For those complaining of bone prominence, just check again - the bone is prominent because the muscle is wasted.

Now, what to do about this problem?

The answer is not medicines but physiotherapy exercises. One way to do it while lying down is to press your knees by making them straight against a pillow placed below the knees, hold for around 10 seconds and relax. Repeat the exercise at least for 25 times in morning and 25 times at night. The more you do the better. Another simple way is to sit on a high chair or table, hang down the knees with thighs well supported on chair. Know straighten the knees as much as you can, hold them for around 10 seconds and release slowly. One you are confidently doing this, you can try lifting weights of 1 kg tied to your foot and lower leg and keep increasing the weights by half kg every week or so. However, it is not recommended to take weight exceeding 2.5 - 3 kg. Please get the opinion from your family doctor before you try out these exercises. Videos demonstrating quadriceps exercise are picked from YouTube below. These exercises are also very effective for osteoarthritis of knee.