STOP Stretching Your Tight Rectus Femoris & Quads (4 Better Exercises)
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- čas přidán 8. 06. 2024
- Is stretching your tight rectus femoris not helping your knee pain? Learn how to loosen and strengthen your rec fem and your quads.
Coach E and Dr. B team up to explain why stretching your rectus femoris (one of the four muscles that make up the quadriceps) for knee pain is an often recommended strategy but often proves harmful. You'll discover why you should stop stretching, why your muscles get tight in the first place, and a handful of exercises that will safely improve your musculature and structure in a way that gives lasting relief.
For these four rec fem exercises, you will only need a foam roller and a convenient wall to lean against. You can do this at home, at this gym, or anywhere with enough room to sit on the floor.
Do this quick routine 3-5 times a week for a few weeks to release your rectus femoris while simultaneously building your thigh, hip, and knee strength and function.
If this answered your questions and helped you feel better, hit that like button and join the over 400,000 other subscribers with the subscribe and notify buttons. You'll get new content each week focusing on different parts of the body so you can move freely and without pain.
IN THIS VIDEO
00:00 - Intro
01:18 - Why should we stop stretching?
04:17 - Why do muscles get tight?
07:36 - Recommended: ROM Coach App
THE EXERCISES
07:55 - ASMR: Quads/ITB
09:55 - Extended Knee Ankle Fl-Ex
12:40 - Standing Slumpy Psoas
15:45 - Glute & Hamstring Activation (Shortened ROM)
18:45 - Routine summary
19:33 - Next steps
RESOURCES AND LINKS MENTIONED
ROM Coach app (free!): www.precisionmovement.coach/r... - our beautiful mobile app to improve your mobility and help you achieve movement longevity, includes the Daily Movement Tuneup and gives you 3 new exercises that will activate every muscle and mobilize every joint in your body every 1-2 weeks (only 3-5 mins/day!)
Medical Disclaimer
The medical information on any/all of our content is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment. Please consult your health care provider before making any health care decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition.
Anatomy images powered by © BioDigital - Sport
![Your Psoas Isn't Just Tight, It's WEAK [Don't Stretch, Do These Instead]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/h_srhkcJxAY/mqdefault.jpg)
![Your Psoas Isn't Just Tight, It's WEAK [Don't Stretch, Do These Instead]](/img/tr.png)
Your approach to solve these issues is very effective. Thank you for continue sharing your knowledge.
You are welcome and we really appreciate you taking the time to comment :)
Dble trouble, and dble the info, great work again coach e and b. Almost 500k subs, man u are killing it.
Yusss!
really learn a ton on movement from your videos. Thank you for all the effort you put into your work!
You are welcome and thanks for watching :)
Love all your videos - so informative. This scientific explanation and correct instruction is ultra valuable. Thanks again
Much appreciated, Dawna!
Excellent video! Super helpful.
Glad that you think so!
Thanks for stopping by to let us know :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
SUPER USEFULL VIDEO!
:)
Great stuff. Very helpful ! Thank you.
Glad it was helpful!
Are your quads chromically tight?
Keep us posted on your progress :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Great app thanks
Thanks for trying it out :)
This was great, thanks so much!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Let us know if you have any questions :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Great video. Thank you so much for what you are doing
My pleasure!
just found you today and im excited to continue
Yay!
So happy that you found us :)
Thanks coach!
No worries!
thank you!
Welcome!
Great video ❤
Thank you!!
In just the 1st 3 minutes, you did make more sense than the rest on YT! I have developed quads, I love doing strengthening protocols for legs - don't want bigger legs anymore, but I am unable to sit on my heels anymore. There is irritation and pain behind my knee. Yes, I do feel the tightness in my quads. Thanks to you both!
You are so welcome. Thanks for watching.
We are here if you need more assistance, so try out the exercises, and let us know if you have any questions :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Thx!
You are welcome :)
Thank you guys! I'm going to start with these exercises today. I've been doing couch stretch and other quad stretches for years and my rectus fem is still tight (simple assessment of laying on a bench and hugging one knee in, the hanging leg is at >90°) its really strange because I'm getting deeper and more comfortable in these stretches. I can be relaxed in the couch stretch against the wall with my back straight and back of the head touching the wall. Will keep you posted.
You are welcome and thanks for trying them out. It's clear that even though your passive ROM has increased it has not transfered to your active ROM, Hence, the continued tightness.
You will make much more progress towards your goals now that you are only focused on increasing your active ROM.
Keep us posted :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Grateful! Appreciated! Sure it will help us!
Thanks for trying it out :)
I recently discovered your site while having physiotherapy for pelvic/hip muscular issues. I 100% agree that passive stretching is not helpful. I passively stretched a couple of weeks ago and strained I think my adductors. Not seriously though. I have already - before seeing this - done some foam roller work with my rectus femoris today, but being a little inflexible (mid fifties and a little out of shape) I have found it hard to use. I think I will benefit from the techniques that you demonstrate here. I do also use a tennis ball while facing the wall. It's not so impactful as the foam roller, but I find I have good control.
Thanks for watching and for trying it out.
Let us know how it goes :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Thank you sooooo much! This is spot on for my rectus femoris.
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for trying it out.
Let us know if you need any more tips :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Has it helped
I think a video your guys need to make is - a time efficient 5 minute routine you can do before a running based sport. And then a 5 minute cool down for after your exercise.
You often caution against the risks and limitations of static stretching. But I’m still doing 5 minute running warm up and cool down routines off CZcams, just because I feel like I should to avoid injuring myself. These routines include those static stretches. The conventional wisdom says you should do dynamic stretches before your exercise and then static one’s after, but I’m open to an alternative approach.
So what would the Precision Movement warm up and cool down routine look like? I need something simple and time effective I can just follow along to without having to think.
Hey!
The ROM Coach app contains awesome running specific routines from mobility to preparation and recovery.
Check it out here:
rom.coach/get/
Let us know if you need any help getting started :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
@@PrecisionMovementCoach great- thank you!
@@PrecisionMovementCoach I checked out the pre and post run routines on ROM. They're cool, but not 100% what I'm looking for. I (and I think others) would really value a 5-minute follow along video. I want to put my phone on the table and follow along, then head out for my run, then follow along to a 5 minute post run routine when I get back. Any more complexity or effort than that and I'll likely not manage to commit to it.
Simply the best!l need info if you give Courses for Proffesionals in Movement please 🙏❤️
Thanks!
We don't have specific courses for professionals but help them to use our content with their clients.
Email us at vip@pmcoach.pro for more info.
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Eric I am a 61 yo hot mess who has been static stretching for YEARS with no changes. Combination of a desk job (intense), cycling and tennis. I have been following your techniques this morning for a couple hours and will follow for four weeks. I have the APP :)
Thanks for trusting us to guide your efforts.
Keep us posted on your progress :)
- Coach Joshua, Team M
nice!
Thank you! Cheers!
Love your videos! They have helped me a lot as little things surface here and there. I play a lot of tennis - is there anything you recommend on your app as far as regular strength or proper movement patterns specifically for tennis?
Thanks for the feedback! Go into ROM Coach / Training / Library / Routines, then search "tennis" and you'll see a bunch of tennis specific routines.
This is exactly what I need! Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for this! After watching countless CZcams videos from people who sound really knowledgeable, I'm placing my trust in your teachings and scientific approach. Personally, I struggle with tight psoas muscles and super tight quads. Will these exercises help improve my really bad posture?
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for trusting us to help guide your efforts.
These exercises are a good start and also check these out:
www.youtube.com/@PrecisionMovementCoach/search?query=posture
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
I had so much pain in the rectus Femoris right leg that walking was painful ..after one exercise , I could make steps with not ache..THANK YOU for explaining how we need to isolate the other muscles when doing this this ...and making the other muscles stronger so that front muscles doesn't have to work so hard.
Thanks for sharing!
We are so happy that it worked and for validating our approach.
Let us know if you ever need more advice or assistance :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Great video and awesome approach. Been struggling with muscle imbalances (VL:VMO) for 3 three years now. Just one question - would you recommend doing this routine before compound movements such as step downs or bodyweight squats or should you rather do the routine on separate days as an active recovery workout?
Glad that you like it!
The routine is great to do on workout days or on off days :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
I'm so happy to have found this. I've been dealing with this for a couple of years and every practitioner prescribes stretching, which never helps. It's making my leg more unstable and tightness doesn't go away. For the Standing Slumpy Psoas, do fists need to be on the wall, or can it be flat hands? I downloaded the ROM Coach app. Which program addresses the rectus femoris/tight quad exercises in this video?
So happy that you found us!
Flat hands are okay.
Try out the Hip Rotation 1 routine in the ROM Coach app and let us know how it goes :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Thanks for the video. Could you illustrate the full name of the areas being worked on and show their location on the chart at the beginning of the video? That would be most helpful.
Thanks for the suggestion :)
While watching, I decided to leave a comment how to avoid using the TFL (which is very important to avoid overload) - but a couple of seconds later you just gave those crucial tips. I was suffering from overmobility caused by too much static stretching, a flat lower back and an inactive Psoas. Key for me was KB Sumo DL, restoring a physiological lumbal lordosis and Psoas activation.
Excellent Job!
Glad to help :)
Are these exercises ok to do with lumbar stenosis and a bad case of sciatica!
I love your videos and thank you for sharing a lot of good and different ways to get get your body moving properly!
These exercises are safe as long as they do not cause more pain.
Try them out and let us know how it goes :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Huge thanks to you! I've been wrestling with a tight rec-fem just smashing trigger points and stretching to no avail for several weeks. I was skeptical that your foam rolling method with that glute engagement or hip extension would be aggressive enough. But, in only 2 days of really just doing that exercise alone, the rec-fem released nicely and my knee pain disappeared. What a relief! Again, huge thanks for sharing this knowledge. I've got your app!
Hello sorry to bother you, I play football and got a really tight rec fem, experiencing cramps in it often and on pressure can’t get my heel to glute. On the exercise you are describing i feel tightness when my leg is not even 30 degrees up from the floor. Did you have the same tight/painful feeling when you did the exercise? And did it really go away after 2 days? I would really appreciate you answering, thank you.
@@gaspervrtacnik7406 Yeah no problem. I felt tightness but not pain. Yes my rec fem released or loosened up in 2 days of doing just the exercise with the foam roller.
Thank you, i guess i have such tightness that it comes out as painfulish feeling. My leg is a mess. I had a broken Illiac crest and had to use crutches for 3 months, resulting in all muscles weakening and rec fem doing all the work now. Well thank you so much for your time again, have a great day
@@gaspervrtacnik7406 You’ll figure it out. Don’t give up.
Hi and sorry for the late reply.
Thanks for trying it out and for commenting.
It's great to read about your results. How are you now?
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Thank you so much for your video's. It's working amazing on all my muscle pain.
Can you please make a video about tight and painfull pelvic floor muscles? Its caused by compensation and imbalance, like you are telling us in your video.
So many people are dealing with painfull pelvic floor muscles. We don't know where it's coming from. Muscle stretching or relaxation exercises are not working.
You are welcome and thanks for the suggestion.
In the meantime, try activating your pelvic floor muscles often throughout the day.
Regular contracting and relaxing should help :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Is there a difference between the roller you use and the white foam rollers used by physical therapists?
And what are your thoughts on the vibration foam rollers?
Mine's pretty firm, so goes deeper. And hurts more. I have a vibrational roller - don't use it much but it's cool too. I don't think it makes a huge difference. Feels nice though.
Hi :) Great video! how about doing the ASMR Quads as part of the Anterior Pelvic Tilt Routine? or even instead of the Kneeling Hip Flexor Dual Contract Relax (DCR) Stretch for those suffering from chondromalacia patella and pain when kneeling? Thanks a lot!
Go for it :)
I modify Exercise 4. Glute & HS Activator by laying my hips on a roller on the floor and doing the last half of the glute and HS activation as I am so very tight in the front hip flexor area. I feel I can keep my pelvis more neutral and gives my underperforming glutes a better chance of firing as I hold myself against the roller and engage core muscles.
Nice mod :)
Hi... Your videos are very unique and precise.. I've got an supraspinatus rotator cuff tear for more about like 2 year now... I've been following your rotator cuff rehab program for more about a month and it's great because I've seen improvement in myself but the thing is how long should I keep doing it because I didn't diagnosed it back then not knowing I had a tear and due to which i think I've severely damaged my tendon ps: it's tendonitis and it's partial tear... What should I do apply ice or heat as my doc said ice are for acute injury and mine it has been there for a long time now..please suggest
Keep doing these exercises forever :)
Also, try alternating heat and cold. Do 30 sec cold/30 sec heat for a total of 5 min.
The Knee Pain Solution program can help you to make more progress:
www.precisionmovement.coach/knee-pain-solution/
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Hi, great video! I was wondering for the 2nd exercise how you know whether your femoris or your intermedius is doing the work? If feel slight pain during the exercise, does that mean I am using my femoris?
Hi and sorry for the late reply.
It's tricky to tune into those muscles because they are smaller and deeper than the others. Try closing your eyes when you do the activations and then refer to an anatomy atlas inbetween. Your ability to "see" and activate will improve with time and practice.
How are you now?
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
This has significantly decreased my 3 years of sacrum pain!
Amazing!
Thanks for taking the time to try it out and for letting us know.
Keep us posted on your progress :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Thank you so much for this. Question: how many seconds do you hold the "Standing slumpy psoas" exercise?
You are welcome and hold it for as long as is comfortable :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
I have your app and use it daily. I can’t find these exercises in the app to add to my routine. Can you help?
Hey!
Thanks for using the app.
Did you search the Single Exercises library for them?
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
I think that last move was just the one I've been looking for...my leg was shaking as I was pulling it up behind me.
Glad that you found it!
Try it out 2 - 3 times weekly for 4 weeks and get back to us with a progress report :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Hello Precision Movement Team, would like to ask if my lack of dorsiflexion can cause tightness in rectus femoris muscle and glute muscles (piriformis (or all deep 6 muscles), maximus, medius, minimus) as a compensation mechanism? With your channel dorsiflexion test (shown in another video) I can't reach wall with my left knee by 4.5 cm and right knee by 6.5 cm.
Also would like to ask witch of 'Solution' programs can help with my dorsiflexion, hip flexor, glute problems?
Thank you for your answer and for the great video once again :)
Hey.
Your issues are certainly connected. A combination of Hip Pain Solution and Knee Pain Solution can help you out:
www.precisionmovement.coach/hip-pain-solution-yt
www.precisionmovement.coach/knee-pain-solution-yt
Let us know if you have any more questions :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Hi, I downloaded the app and went through the assessment. I’m curious if one could expect to do those, or achieve those positions and strength with moderate tri-compartmental osteoarthritis in the knees as well as bone on bone behind the patella. I chose hip, knee and low back focus for the assessment. It was very painful.
Yes, absolutely.
It's hard to say how much progress you will make and how quickly but you will notice changes after 4 - 6 weeks of consistent practice :)
Keep us posted on your progress :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Hi coach e I have a really hard foam roller which is painful to say the least ...would something like a swimming noodle be a good place to start
The swimming noodle is probably too soft. Try wrapping a sinlge layer of towel or some fabric with thickness around your roller and let us know how that goes.
Talk to you soon :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
How often should I do these exercises? After on day I can feel the difference and I din't even do all the exercises. It seems like the execise force the body to move correctly as you build more muscle in the affected area.
2 - 3 times per week is sufficient.
We are so happy to read that they are already helping!
Keep us posted on your progress :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Are there any disadvantages to using a percussion massage gun instead of foam rolling? I find it awkward to lie face down and foam roll.
The gun is overkill.
Why is it awkward?
Use your fingers and try out the exercise in a chair. Press into the target area with your fingers and then bend/straighten your knee repeatedly.
Try that out and let us know how it goes :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
@@PrecisionMovementCoach Thanks for getting back to me.
I should have said it was only the foam rolling at 8:40 (forearm plank rolling quads) that I found awkward: harder to control and to keep it up for a longer time.
I have used my fingers to massage, but the massage gun is stronger. By "overkill", do you mean it is too hard on injured tissue?
@@bruces317 ok, try putting your forearms on an elevated surface with some cushioning and let us know how it goes.
You can learn more about massage guns here. They don't provide much benefit over other tools:
czcams.com/video/bFZ76SwaVYs/video.html
There has to be an active component coupled with whatever tool you are using to apply pressure (autogenic inhibition) or else the effect will not last. The gun is essentially applying unnecessary force past the minimum effective dose needed.
Does that help?
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
@@PrecisionMovementCoach Yes, that is very helpful. Thanks again.
DOES THIS HELP WITH RANGE OF MOTION TO GET HEEL TO BUTT?
YUP
I’ve had hip impingement surgery and hip avulsion fracture surgery back in 2021, I did some physical therapy but my rectus femoris still seems to be weak. I’ve tried laser therapy, cupping and scrapping but it only gives me a temporary relief. It hurts when I sprint and squat. Left leg feels 100% and my right leg feels 70%.
We've got you covered. You've also tried a lot of passive techniques that don't lead to lasting results.
You need the Hip Pain Solution program:
www.precisionmovement.coach/hip-pain-solution-yt
It will help you to address the root cause of your issue :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Hello, I play football and got a really tight rec fem. I haven’t been really using my right leg for 3 months now because of injury . For the past 3 weeks i have been trying strengthening my rec fem because of tightness. I thought the reason for tightness was that it was weak. Turns out from your explanation i was wrong it has been doing all the work and my strengthening has been doing even more damage. I gave a try to the first exercise(ASMR: Quads/ITB) and experienced really awful tightness when my leg wasn’t even 30 degrees from the floor. Is the tightness normal? Should i continue the exercise or stop? If continue how often should i do the exercises? I would really appreciate you answering, thank you.
Hey!
Try out these exercises 2-3 times per week and keep us posted on your progress. The tightness should subside with time and practice.
The Hip Pain Solution program is a very comprehensive plan that will help you to address multiple root causes of your issue:
www.precisionmovement.coach/hip-pain-solution-yt
It can help you to make even more progress :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Hello,
the pain/tightness is already gone, though thank you for your reply. I visited a doctor. The problem was that i had weak quad muscles. One of the quad muscles wasn’t doing it’s thing (the patella was being shifted) resulting in the pain/tightness that was similar to cramping in the bottom of rectus femoris. The solution was very simple - strengthening my quad muscles.
My knees and quads feel tight when standing. It also stiffs right on top of my knees when walking.
My doc said it might be Malalignment knee. When I hold my knee tight I feel like I can walk without stiffness. It’s been 6 months and it slowly increasing.
What should I do?
These exericses are a good start.
Do them 2 - 3 times weekly for 4 weeks.
Also, check out the resources in the video descrtipion for more ideas. Especially, the Hip Pain Solution program :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
Hi! This didn’t work. I am still having same issue. Did X-ray and mri for both knees and also lower back and all the reports came normal.
What would be causing this? It’s hard to stand for longer than few minutes.
what is your app?
ROM Coach :)
www.precisionmovement.coach/rom-yt
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
My situation must be much worse than i thought, i cant really do any of these properly 😭
If you can do them at all then that is a good start. Apply any modifications to suit your capabilities and go from there.
Most people take at least 4 weeks to notice improvements.
Keep us posted on your progress :)
- Coach Joshua, Team PM
@@PrecisionMovementCoachokay that's reassuring! I'll keep it at and will update :)