Quadriceps inhibition is a problem that may occur when the knee is very painful, and a reflex inhibits the muscle from contracting.
Page updated January 2024 by Dr Sheila Strover (Clinical Editor)
After injury or surgery it may prove difficult to contract the quadriceps muscle properly.
Atrophy or inhibition?
It is important to differentiate between muscle inhibition, where the muscle itself is not damaged, and muscle atrophy, where the muscle cells have broken down.
Quick links
Peer-reviewed papers
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Quote:
"...findings provide no evidence for a cortical [ie brain] contribution to quadriceps [arthrogenic muscle inhibition] and suggest that ongoing spinal reflex inhibition may be sufficient to explain the marked neural activation deficit that occurs following acute knee injury, knee surgery and in chronic knee joint pathologies."
Citation: Rice DA, McNair PJ, Lewis GN, Dalbeth N. Quadriceps arthrogenic muscle inhibition: the effects of experimental knee joint effusion on motor cortex excitability. Arthritis Res Ther. 2014 Dec 10;16(6):502. doi: 10.1186/s13075-014-0502-4. PMID: 25497133; PMCID: PMC4271337.
Synonyms:
quads inhibition
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