Thigh
Cartilage & fascia
- Iliotibial band
The long band of tough tissue down the outer thigh, from the hip bone to the shin. How it is built and anchored, what it does at the hip and knee, how it gets injured, and what studies found about stretching it.
Muscles
- Hamstrings
The three long muscles at the back of the thigh. How they swing the thigh back and bend the knee, why they strain so often in sprinting sports, how they change with training, and what they work with.
- Hip adductors
The group of inner-thigh muscles that pull the leg in toward the other one. What each muscle does, how often they are hurt in sport, how they grow with training, and what they work with.
- Quadriceps
The group of four muscles at the front of the thigh that straightens the knee. How it pulls through the kneecap, how it strains and weakens, and how quickly it grows and shrinks.
Bones
- Femur
The thigh bone, the longest and strongest bone in the body. How it forms the hip and knee, how much load it carries, how it breaks, how it heals and responds to load, and what attaches to it.
Exercises
- Back squat
A barbell squat. What the studies measured it loading, how bar position, stance and depth shift the work, and how muscles changed with training.
- Nordic hamstring curl
A partner exercise that works the hamstrings as they lengthen. What it loads, how the muscles changed with training, how studies varied and dosed it, and what injury trials found, including a reanalysis that disagreed.
- Sled push
Driving a weighted sled forward by its handles. What the few pushing studies measured, how pushing differs from towing a sled, and what sled-training studies found on load, surface and speed.
- Sprinting
Running as fast as possible. How a sprint unfolds, which muscles studies found doing the work, what sprint programmes changed, and what studies of sprint exposure and hamstring injury found.
- Step-up
Stepping up onto a box or bench, one leg at a time. What studies measured it loading, how step height and added weight change the work, and what training with it changed.
- Wall sit
A squat position held still, also studied as the wall squat. What studies measured it working, from thigh and buttock muscles to a knee ligament, and how blood pressure studies progressed it by knee angle, holds and sessions.
Stretches
- Hamstring stretch
A back-of-thigh stretch that bends the hip with the knee straight, done standing or lying. What studies measured in the hamstrings and the sciatic nerve, and what trials of hold time, intensity and injury found.
- Quadriceps stretch
A front-of-thigh stretch that bends the knee with the hip kept straight or back. What studies measured in the rectus femoris and the vasti, and what they found about knee pain.
- Standing IT band stretch
A standing side lean with one leg crossed behind the other, used to stretch the outer thigh. What studies measured in the iliotibial band and the muscle at its top, and what trials of the stretch found.
Nerves
- Femoral nerve
The main nerve of the front of the thigh. Where it runs, what it supplies, how it moves with the hip and knee, how it gets injured in sport and after surgery, and what studies report about recovery.
Conditions
- Hamstring strain
How research defines and grades a hamstring strain, how often it happens in the sports that have counted it, how long athletes were out, and what trials of exercise, injections and surgery found.
- Quadriceps contusion
A bruise of the front thigh muscles from a direct blow. How reviews define and grade it, which sports have counted it, how long players were out, and how often bone formed in the muscle afterwards.
Exercises that load this area
Filed under another area, but connected to an entry here.
- Back extension
An exercise that lifts the upper body from a face-down position, on a Roman chair, a bench or a table. What studies measured it loading, how set-up shifts the work, and what training changed.
- Box jump
A jump up and forward onto a box. What the few box jump studies measured at take-off and landing, what jumps from the ground show about the muscles and tendons, and what injury surveys reported.
- Burpee
A bodyweight move from standing to a squat, a plank and back up, often with a push-up and a jump. What studies measured of its demand, what burpee training trials found, and how thin the evidence on its muscles is.
- Copenhagen adductor plank
A side-lying hold or lift with the top leg resting on a support, which works the inner thigh muscles. What studies measured it loading, how the lever changes the work, and what training changed.
- Deadlift
A lift driven by the muscles that straighten the hip, knee and back. What the studies measured it loading, from the back and thigh muscles to the lower spine, and what is known about how the body adapts.
- Decline squat
A squat, most often on one leg, done on a sloped board. What studies measured it loading, from the patellar tendon to the thigh and calf muscles, and what training and trials in people with patellar tendon pain found.
- Drop landing
Stepping off a platform and landing, as in drop landings and drop jumps. What studies measured it loading, from the thigh muscles to the knee and ankle ligaments, and what landing tests have and have not predicted.
- Farmer's carry
Walking while holding a heavy weight in each hand. What the studies measured it loading, from the back and trunk muscles to the hips and spine, and how carrying in one hand compares.
- Glute bridge hold
Lying on the back and holding the pelvis up off the floor. What studies measured it working, from the buttock and back of the thigh to the back and abdominal muscles, and how variations shift the work.
- Good morning
A barbell exercise that bends the body forward at the hips with the bar across the upper back. What small studies measured it loading with straighter and more bent knees, and what models estimate for the lower spine.
- Hip thrust
A bridging lift with the upper back on a bench and a barbell across the hips. What studies measured it loading, how it compares with the squat and deadlift, and what changed with training.
- Hollow hold
A held bodyweight position that works the front of the trunk. What studies of similar held positions measured in the abdominal and hip muscles, and what is known about how those muscles change with training.
- Kettlebell swing
A hip-driven swing of a kettlebell between the legs and up to the chest or overhead. What small studies measured it loading, how style and bell weight change it, and what swing-only training trials found.
- Lunge
The forward, reverse and walking lunge. What studies measured them loading at the hip and knee, how step length, trunk lean and added weight shift the work, and what training studies found.
- Mountain climber
A bodyweight exercise used in interval circuits and some fitness tests. The muscle measurements nearest to it come from related knee-drive moves, and the training trials tested circuits that included it. What those studies did and found.
- Plank
A face-down hold that works the muscles of the abdomen, back, hips and shoulders. What studies measured it loading, how its versions shift the work, and what is known about how these muscles adapt.
- Pogo hops
Repeated two-legged hops with nearly straight knees and short ground contacts. What hopping studies measured at the ankle, calf muscles, Achilles tendon and foot, and what hopping programmes changed.
- Power clean
A barbell lift pulled fast from low down to the shoulders. What studies measured it loading, which loads gave the most power, how training with it changed people, and what weightlifting injury studies report.
- Running
Steady distance running. Which muscles studies found doing the work, what models estimate it loads from the foot to the knee, and what reviews found on foot strike, shoes, training load, progression and injury.
- Side-lying hip abduction
An exercise that moves the thigh out to the side while lying on one side. What studies measured it working, from the gluteus medius and minimus to the muscles that share the work, and how the clamshell compares.
- Single-leg Romanian deadlift
A hip hinge done standing on one leg. What the studies measured it working, from the buttock and hamstring muscles to the small muscles that keep the body balanced.
- Single-leg squat
A squat on one leg. What studies measured it loading, from the buttock muscles to the kneecap joint and the ACL, and what it showed when used as a test of how the knee moves.
- Split squat
A squat with the feet fixed in a stride, often with the rear foot raised on a bench. What studies measured at the hip, knee and thigh muscles, how each leg shares the work, and what short training trials found.