Hello, I'm Brett DeGoyer. I'm a primary care sports medicine specialist working for Samaritan Healthcare in Moses Lake, Washington. So here we're looking at a quadricep injury or a quadricep tendon injury. The thing that we want to be aware of is sometimes patients who come in with this type of injury actually masquerade as a knee injury. This area will be swollen all around the knee joint and it's very easy to get focused on that, oh, this is a knee problem, when in actuality it's up along the quadricep. So this is something that we don't want to miss. So the simple part of the examination in addition to the knee exam is to look at quad strength and your palpatory exam. So we look at quad strength, active motion, if he can lift his knee, so knee extension. If he can't, then obviously there's a problem. If he can and it's painful, then we want to make sure to palpate along the quadriceps. So as he gently extends his knee, I can compress against to also look for strength, but my other hand is going to be palpating along that quadricep tendon and up along the quadriceps to look for any defects or swelling, as well as pain in that area. Then that would be a very high indication that there is a tear there and that needs more diagnostic imaging. If there is no ability to extend the knee, then it's likely a full rupture.

2nd Edition, CASE 29

2nd Edition

Knee

quadricep tendon injuries

knee issues

diagnostic imaging

quad strength assessment

knee extension