Dance Anatomy & Kinesiology

246 Dance Anatomy and Kinesiology

Palpation: You can palpate the rectus femoris running down the middle of the front of the thigh. You

can palpate the vastus intermedius under the rectus when you approach from the medial or lateral

side. The vastus lateralis can be palpated laterally to the rectus, from just below the greater trochanter

down to the patella. The distal portion of the vastus medialis can easily be palpated medial to the

rectus femoris along the lower third of the thigh. If you place the palm of your hand on the upper thigh

in a sitting position, you can feel the whole quadriceps femoris group contracting under your hand if

you raise the leg to the front with the knee bent (hip flexion) and then extend the knee as you would

with a parallel front développé.

Posterior Muscles of the Knee

The posterior muscles of the knee are the hamstrings, popliteus, and gastrocnemius. The hamstrings and

gastrocnemius are multijoint muscles, while the popliteus only crosses and acts on the knee joint.

Hamstrings

As described in the preceding chapter on the hip, the hamstrings—the biceps femoris, semitendino-

sus, and semimembranosus—originate from the ischial tuberosity of the pelvis (figure 5.7A) and the

posterior femur (figure 5.7B) and attach distally below the knee on the tibia and fibula. All three of the

hamstrings act to produce knee flexion and can help prevent knee hyperextension. In addition, they can

contribute to rotary movements of the knee. The semitendinosus (L. semi, half + tendinosus, tendon)

and semimembranosus (L. semi, half + membranosus, membrane) insert medially on the tibia and so

FIGURE 5.6 The quadriceps femoris (right knee, anterior view). (A) Rectus femoris, (B) the three vasti muscles.