Ripped/Pulled quad?

[Apollo.]

Hey guys, tonight I was training legs and during a heavy set of squats I heard a sort of 'popping' noise from my right quad and it was suddenly really sore. I stopped training straight away but now it's pretty painful to walk, touch my right leg near my quad, drive and pretty much do anything.

Does anyone have an idea what this could be? I think I've maybe ripped it or pretty badly pulled it but I'm more worried about what the noise was than the pain if I'm honest.:confused:

[Coolboi]

sounds like u pulled a tendon. I just 3 weeks ago pulled one on a rib an hurts like hell still no working out for me 6 weeks total hey go to the doctors right away good luck

[Apollo.]

Thanks for the reply, I don't think it is a tendon it feels like the full muscle is painful when I put any pressure io it or use it. It's hard to explain the pain in it if I'm honest bit it doesn't feel like tendon damage.

[TigerBoy]

Sorry you are hurt bud :-( You can get loud noises from tendon slipping over joints (harmlessly usually) or bone breaks. Not sure about muscle tears tbh. May have been caused by your technique being off e.g. your legs may have been out of alignment so spend your recuperation time reading up on technique ;-)

Standard soft tissue injury first aid:

1) Rest (stay off it if you can, isolate it so you don't use it as much as possible).
2) Ice - either an ice pack or cold bath to keep swelling down
3) Compression - strap it up, again to keep swelling down, keep things aligned correctly and help immobilise it to rest it
4) Elevation - again for swelling, keep it level or above your heart whenever you can (eg watch tv laying down if poss).

Avoid doing squats - you are probably off for a couple of weeks now I'm afraid, rush back and you'll undo the healing process and have to start all over again. Consider seeing your GP for qualified advice. Anti-inflammatories (Ibuprufen) will help reduce swelling and promote healing as well as ease the pain.


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Tips for squats that have helped me.

Narrow grip on bar, push shoulder blades together (this was the best tip for me).
Bum out, back arched (push belly forward) lift with legs and hips, never flex your back.
When you lift it off the rack, lift with your legs. Don't lift it by just straightening your back like I was.
Stand holding it on your back for 5-10s before you start a set, this gives all the muscles a chance to kind of wake up and power up (something to do with releasing chemicals but it seems to work well for me).
Squat low to prevent holding your knees loaded at an unnatural mid-point (protects knees and also ensures a good full extension throughout the whole muscle.

I am lifting 2 sets of 12 reps, when I can manage 3 sets I put the weight up a bit. As I am fairly new to squats I'm not doing anything too heavy until I have my technique 100%.

[Nellerin]

Let it rest and ice it for at least a few days.

Do not do any leg exercises for atleast a week or two. And, when you do squats again focus on form more than the weight.