Nontraumatic Anterior Thigh Pain in a NCAA Lacrosse Athlete: A Case Report and Description of a Rectus Femoris Degloving Injury

Abstract

A 21-year-old female lacrosse player complained of anterior thigh pain with no known mechanism of injury and failed to improve with conservative therapy. An MRI was obtained showing a closed degloving injury of the rectus femoris, an injury only previously reported in a small case series of soccer players. After a brief period of rest, she was progressed conservatively through therapy and did well, with progression back to the level of competition at 56 days. This case highlights a rare injury not previously described in sports outside of soccer and is the first case described in a female athlete. In addition, the discussion of this case focuses on the unique anatomy of the rectus femoris.