Acute left quadriceps pain when squatting

I am doing the Powerbuilding I template and today is squat day. When I went to do my 1 rep at RPE 8, I developed acute pain in the left quadriceps around the area where you would expect the vastus medialis and the sartorius to cross. I was able to complete the rep, but it hurt like crazy. I could only do 3 reps of the first back off set of 6 because of the sharp pain, especially when I was in the hole where the eccentric phase of the muscle is maximal.

I figure it’s a tear of some sort and will get better. My question is what I should do for squat and squat variations because it hurts even when I do an air squat.

Really light sets? Leg press? High bar?

Thanks for any advice. I’m disappointed that this will likely eat into my progress, but that’s life I guess.

Sunil

Hey @SVRao - sorry to hear about the recent quad issue. How have you been managing since onset?

If you’ve not seen this video yet on pain and load management, then it will likely help guide the path: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdwj5ORPmX0&t=2s

Happy to discuss more.

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Michael,

Thanks for following up. I ended up doing lighter 3-0-3 tempo squats the next workout. Felt ok. By the following squat session, the pain was completely gone. Just one of those things I guess. Underscores the idea to not catastrophize pain.

Sunil

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Hi all,

I believe that I have been experiencing the same pain you are describing, however, my pain has been going on for months. I have tried squatting lighter weights but even squatting the bar alone is painful. I have also tried different stances such as angling my toes a little more outwards compared to my normal squat stance. This helps slightly but the pain has continued to persist after several weeks. For a while, I started doing pin squats to prevent going past my knees and by not activating this area, it seemed to be okay. But the second I go back to normal squats, it is Pain City all over again! It is starting to affect my normal day-to-day tasks such as driving for long periods of time (keeping my foot on the gas) and stretching my legs when I wake up. I really don’t want to stop squatting… Any tips?

Thank you!
Jenn

Hey @jhong24 sorry you are dealing with this. Tough to give specific advice without a consult but we usually advocate for managing load and fatigue while finding a tolerable starting point to activity to build from. Often finding that tolerable starting point is half the battle. If you’ve decreased down to the barbell, have you tried a goblet squat with dumbbell or kettlebell? The barbell squat has an inherent starting point of 45#/20kg for most people (unless the person has access to other barbells at lower weights).

Hi Michael,

Thank you for your response! I recently posted on BBM’s Facebook page about this. The post gives a bit more detail and updates on how I’ve been feeling.

“Hey everyone,

So I’d like to discuss the pain I experience in my upper right thigh during my squats (starting to feel the same in my left thigh so I’m getting nervous about this). It’s been about 6 months or so and doesn’t seem to be getting better. As I descend, I begin to feel tightness in my upper right thigh (located right before my hip crevice). Once I get close to depth or hit depth, I feel instant pain, which forces me to shoot up during my squat. I have tried experimenting with my squat stance from wide to narrow, and even the positioning of my toes slightly forward to a more obtuse angle. I’ve lowered the weight on the bar and that hasn’t helped me, since the bar alone is painful and yes, air squats hurt too. I’ve also been doing pin squats but feel some numbness in that area. A lot of people are telling me it’s hip pain, but I really think it’s just my upper leg. It’s now affecting simple tasks such as keeping my leg on the gas pedal while driving and lifting my leg up to tie my shoe. I’d really appreciate any tips or suggestions on what to do. I don’t want to stop squatting! Thanks guys!”

That being said, I don’t think dumbbell or kettlebell squats will help since I now feel pain once I get close to depth or hit depth. I’ve tried lunges and leg press and they don’t seem to help either. Any tips on how to manage the pain or fix it? Thank you!

best,
Jenn

Hey @jhong24 - what advice did you receive from the Facebook group? How have things been recently?

if you’ve tried managing load, changing range of motion, and changing exercise selection without relief and it’s been ongoing for six months, I recommend finding a local clinician you trust to help guide you through this process or we can try a remote consult with you: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F…ilUWA/viewform
This will provide us the one-on-one time to openly discuss your pain experience and devise a collaborative plan to get you back to doing the activities you desire. Happy to help.