The quadriceps are large muscles on the front of the thighs. This muscle helps accelerate you forward or upward an acclivity. It is another dynamism of the body. The quadriceps get a lot of repetition and can easily become overworked. When you overwhelm your quad whether lifting excessively, extending it too far when walking, or twisting it miscellaneously, you can pull or strain it. When this happens, you need to care for it promptly.
How to wrap the quadriceps
- Ice your quad immediately after the accident. Reduce the swelling subsequently after the pulled muscle. Ice not only mitigates the swelling, it eases the pain and prevents future swelling.
- Bandage your quad with a pre-wrap. This athletic wrap should be padded, non-sticky tape that swathes your leg to avert tape directly on the leg, because tape can irritate the skin while walking. Start about an inch or two above your knee and continue wrapping upward about ¾ of the way up your thigh. Make sure it isn’t tight–it should be comfortable.
- Wrap your quad with athletic tape. Swathe it over the quad. The easiest way to tape it, is with a band of tape around the bottom of the pre-wrap, a two-layered wrap then clothe around the top of the quad twice. Do not wrap tightly–the leg around the tape should not bulge and pressure should only be felt around the swathed areas. Movement should not be constricted. Then, wrap in between those two pieces of tape, working your way from the bottom to the top, overlapping the tape with each pass. Again, this should only be applying pressure.
- Elevate your leg. This can be done with a stack of pillows or the side/back of a chair or couch. Lifting your leg will help ease the pain and abate the swelling.
- Remove the tape each day then ice and re-tape the following day.
