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MuscleThighsuperficialBeyond Cert IVDraft

GracilisMusculus gracilis

Long, thin strap muscle running down the inner edge of the thigh from the pubic bone to the upper inner tibia, which pulls the thigh inwards and helps bend the knee.

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LatinMusculus gracilis
Origin
  • Lower half of the pubic symphysis and upper half of the pubic arch (ischiopubic ramus)
Insertion
  • Upper medial surface of the tibia, at the pes anserinus (between sartorius and semitendinosus)
Action
  • Adducts the hip
  • Helps flex the hip
  • Helps flex the knee
  • Helps medially rotate the leg when the knee is bent
NerveObturator nerve (anterior branch) (L2–L3)
GroupAdductors
NameLatin gracilis, 'slender' — a long, thin strap of muscle.

Palpation

  1. Client supine with the hip slightly bent and turned out and the knee supported on a bolster; drape securely and get consent first.
  2. Place your fingers on the inner side of the knee, just behind the bulge of vastus medialis, and find the thin tendon running towards the upper inner tibia.
  3. Follow the narrow strap upwards along the most inner edge of the thigh, only as far as the drape and the client's comfort allow.
  4. Ask the client to squeeze the knee inwards and bend it slightly against light resistance; the thin cord firms up.

Gracilis is the most superficial muscle on the inner thigh and the only one of the Adductors that crosses the knee. At the knee its tendon joins Sartorius and Semitendinosus at the pes anserinus (“goose’s foot”) on the upper inner tibia. Clients sometimes report tenderness just below the inner knee at this shared attachment.

To tell gracilis from the other adductors, follow the thin tendon at the inner knee: the other adductors stop on the femur, but gracilis continues past the knee. Sources disagree on its rotation action: Wikipedia’s summary box gives medial rotation, while its main text lists both medial and lateral rotation depending on position.

Draping and client comfort. The inner thigh is a sensitive area near the groin. Explain what you plan to do and get clear verbal consent, keep the drape securely tucked so the groin stays covered, and never work under the drape. Work from the knee upwards only to mid-thigh in a relaxation routine, and stop if the client is uncomfortable. See Draping and room set-up.

Techniques

  • Effleurage — Long, gliding strokes with the whole palm that spread the medium, warm the tissue and link the other strokes together.
  • Petrissage — Kneading strokes that compress, lift and squeeze the muscle away from the bone, working the tissue between the hands.
  • Compression — Pressing straight down into a muscle with the palm, fist or forearm, holding briefly, then releasing and moving on.
  • Muscle energy technique — The client gently contracts a muscle against the therapist's equal counterforce for a few seconds, relaxes, and the therapist then eases the body part to a new comfortable limit.

Works with

  • Adductor longus — Flat, fan-shaped inner-thigh muscle from the front of the pubic bone to the middle of the femur that pulls the thigh inwards and helps flex the hip.
  • Adductor brevis — Short, triangular inner-thigh muscle lying under pectineus and adductor longus that pulls the thigh inwards and helps flex the hip.
  • Adductor magnus — Large, triangular inner-thigh muscle with an adductor part and a hamstring part, which pulls the thigh inwards and helps extend the hip.
  • Sartorius — Long, thin strap muscle, the longest in the body, running diagonally across the front of the thigh from the ASIS to the inner knee, which helps flex, abduct and laterally rotate the hip and bend the knee.
  • Semitendinosus — Inner hamstring muscle with a long, cord-like lower tendon that bends the knee, extends the hip and turns the leg inwards.

Opposes

  • Gluteus medius — Thick, fan-shaped muscle on the outer side of the pelvis that abducts the hip and keeps the pelvis level when you stand on one leg.
  • Gluteus minimus — The smallest and deepest of the three gluteal muscles, lying under gluteus medius, that abducts and medially rotates the hip.
  • Tensor fasciae latae — Small muscle at the front of the outer hip, just below the ASIS, that tightens the iliotibial band and helps flex, abduct and medially rotate the hip.

Same group

  • Adductor brevis — Short, triangular inner-thigh muscle lying under pectineus and adductor longus that pulls the thigh inwards and helps flex the hip.
  • Adductor longus — Flat, fan-shaped inner-thigh muscle from the front of the pubic bone to the middle of the femur that pulls the thigh inwards and helps flex the hip.
  • Adductor magnus — Large, triangular inner-thigh muscle with an adductor part and a hamstring part, which pulls the thigh inwards and helps extend the hip.
  • Pectineus — Short, flat muscle at the top of the inner thigh, running from the pubic bone to just below the lesser trochanter, that flexes and adducts the hip.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Gracilis muscle
  2. Wikipedia: Adductor muscles of the hip
  3. Wikipedia: Obturator nerve