Leg Muscle Pain and Cramp

Leg Muscle Injury

There are a number of ways to suffer from leg muscle pain and cramps – all of which involve some sort of activity: sports, household chores, walking, running, weight lifting, etc. Leg muscle pain is a common occurrence, and it can be due to a muscle cramp (aka charley horse).

A pulled thigh muscle can vary from minor pain and cramping to piercing pain and muscle ruptures.  However, there are ways to prevent your next episode of limping because of this muscle pain.

Causes of Upper leg muscle pain

Some of the common causes of upper leg muscle pain include:

• Dehydration or depletion of calcium, potassium, or sodium.
• Muscle strain
• Muscle fatigue from excessive stress
• Holding the muscle in the same position for extended periods of time
• Leg muscle injury from torn or over stretched muscle
• Tendonitis

Quadriceps Injury & Strain – Torn Quadriceps

Quadriceps injury usually involves the rectus femoris, and strains of the vastus lateralis and vastus medialis are not very common. The rectus femoris is injured the most during activities such as sprinting, explosive jumping, kicking, and contracting during weight lifting.

A quadriceps injury can begin as a pain that starts during the movement or it can build up over the course of the following days. The pain can be dull or stronger, depending on the severity of the injury.

Quadriceps injury and strains are usually categorized into grades:

Grade 1 injury - A mild strain of the quadriceps muscle. A slightly pulled quadriceps muscle, but no tearing of the muscles of tendons, and there's little or no loss of strength and mobility.

Grade 2 injury - A moderate quadriceps muscle strain which involves a tearing of fibers in a muscle, and there is loss of strength and mobility.

Grade 3 strain - A severe injury of the quadriceps muscle which involves muscle tear and rupture of the muscle tendon and bone attachment. Surgery is required to repair the damage.

Hamstring injury - Pulled Hamstring

A pulled hamstring is also a hamstring strain. The hamstring is a large muscle group making up the bulk of the back of your upper leg that functions to extend your hip joint and flex the knee joint.

Pulled Hamstring Symptoms

The symptom of a pulled hamstring will depend on the severity of the injury. Typically, injury to the hamstring is sudden and painful. Some of the common symptoms include:

• Muscle spasms which occur because the signals of contraction are confused due to the muscle trauma
• Bruising occurs when small tears within the muscle fibers causes bleeding and subsequent bruising
• Swelling occurs from the accumulation of blood from the hamstring injury
• Loss of muscle control. Pulled hamstring can lead to difficult contracting the muscle. Trying to flex the hamstring can be painful, and in severe cases, prevent the individual from walking normally.

Torn hamstring

This is a more severe version of a hamstring injury, causing the muscle to actually rupture under the weight of a movement or some outside force.  This can feel like a popping or a sharper pain at the time of the movement and will require medical intervention in order to be properly healed.

Pulled Hamstring Injury Treatment

Different severity of hamstring injury will require different treatment. All sports activity should be put on hold, and get rest immediately. Using ice packs will help control swelling. Use the R.I.C.E (rest ice, compress, elevation) method. Use crutches if walking is difficult, and always consult a sports injury doctor for medical advice.