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Vastus lateralisMusculus vastus lateralis

The largest quadriceps muscle, covering the outer side of the thigh, which straightens and steadies the knee.

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LatinMusculus vastus lateralis
Origin
  • Upper part of the intertrochanteric line of the femur
  • Front and lower borders of the greater trochanter
  • Outer border of the gluteal tuberosity
  • Upper half of the outer lip of the linea aspera
Insertion
  • Outer border of the patella, via the quadriceps tendon
  • Tibial tuberosity, via the patellar ligament
Action
  • Extends the knee
  • Helps stabilise the knee
NerveFemoral nerve (L2–L4)
GroupQuadriceps
NameLatin vastus, 'huge', and lateralis, 'on the side' — the huge muscle on the outer thigh.

Palpation

  1. Client supine (or side-lying on the opposite side); stand beside the thigh.
  2. Find the greater trochanter, then place your palm on the outer thigh just below it.
  3. Feel the broad muscle mass running from the trochanter down the outer thigh to the outer edge of the patella. The flat, tough band on its surface is the iliotibial (IT) band.
  4. Ask the client to straighten the knee against light resistance; the outer mass firms beneath the IT band.

Landmarks: Greater trochanter · Patella · Tibial tuberosity

Vastus lateralis is the biggest and most powerful of the Quadriceps. It wraps around the outside of the thigh and sits under the iliotibial (IT) band, the thick strip of fascia (connective tissue) that runs from Tensor fasciae latae and Gluteus maximus down to the knee. Clients often think their “IT band” is tight when the tenderness they report is really in the vastus lateralis underneath.

Side-lying is a good position for this muscle. Use Effleurage from the knee up to the Greater trochanter, then Petrissage and Compression into the outer thigh. The IT band itself does not stretch much, so work the soft muscle beside and beneath it rather than pressing hard on the band.

Between vastus lateralis and Biceps femoris on the back of the thigh is a groove (the lateral intermuscular septum). Asking the client to bend the knee against resistance makes biceps femoris firm and helps you find where one ends and the other begins.

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.
  • Wringing — A petrissage stroke where the hands lift the tissue and push and pull it across the body in opposite directions, like wringing out a towel.
  • Compression — Pressing straight down into a muscle with the palm, fist or forearm, holding briefly, then releasing and moving on.
  • Hacking — A percussion stroke where the little-finger edges of both relaxed hands strike the muscle alternately in a quick, light rhythm.

Works with

  • Rectus femoris — Spindle-shaped muscle down the middle of the front of the thigh, the only quadriceps muscle that crosses the hip, so it both flexes the hip and straightens the knee.
  • Vastus medialis — Quadriceps muscle on the inner side of the thigh, forming the teardrop bulge above the knee, that straightens the knee and helps the kneecap track in its groove.
  • Vastus intermedius — Deep quadriceps muscle lying on the front of the femur under rectus femoris, which straightens the knee.

Opposes

  • Hamstrings — Group of three muscles on the back of the thigh, running from the sitting bone to below the knee, that bend the knee and extend the hip.
  • Biceps femoris — Two-headed hamstring muscle on the outer back of the thigh that bends the knee, and with its long head also extends the hip.

Same group

  • Rectus femoris — Spindle-shaped muscle down the middle of the front of the thigh, the only quadriceps muscle that crosses the hip, so it both flexes the hip and straightens the knee.
  • Vastus intermedius — Deep quadriceps muscle lying on the front of the femur under rectus femoris, which straightens the knee.
  • Vastus medialis — Quadriceps muscle on the inner side of the thigh, forming the teardrop bulge above the knee, that straightens the knee and helps the kneecap track in its groove.

Used in routines

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Vastus lateralis muscle
  2. Wikipedia: Quadriceps femoris muscle