Pronator Quadratus is one of the very important muscles in our body. It is present in the arm which means it helps with the movement of the arm. The muscles play a very vital role in the human body function and the most important role of these muscles is that they help in the movement of the body every movement that happens within or outside of the body done by our own body is actually done by these muscles and that is why having the healthy muscles is so important. Having healthy muscles mean that you have strong and stable muscles and your muscles have enough strength and flexibility to deal with the pressure otherwise these muscles get torn resulting in an injury and then they result in the extreme pain because of that along with no movement from that muscle.
Muscles usually take a lot of the time to heal and sometimes the condition is so bad that you may also have to go through some surgical procedures and in some cases, the physiotherapy works alright. Being a sports person you should know about the muscles and how they will need the strength and what exercises you need to perform to give them the strength so that you can perform your normal sports activities without any problem or trouble. Pronator Quadratus is one of the very important muscles present in the human body. It is present in the arms so knowing about this muscle will be great information for the sportsmen who play games like the basketball or handball where you need all the strength in your forearms so that you can pass a good throw.
Pronator Quadratus
It is the muscle that is present near the lower part of a body known as radius. The radius is the shorter one of the two bones that are present in the forearm and the other one is the ulna. This muscle is used a lot for a lot of the daily routine actions like brushing your teeth. When you are eating something or even when typing something these muscles are continuously in the action. This muscle is present on the anterior side of the arm just along the radius bone and the nerves also pass through this muscle.
The anterior interosseous nerve which is the branch of the median nerve innervates through this muscle. It provides these muscle with the basic commands from the brain for which type of the movement arm needs to carry out. Muscles in return contract and return to their original spot to carry out these movements. This is exactly how all the other muscles of the body work but with the different commands and different command carrying nerves of those muscles. The interosseous artery is what that supplies the blood to this muscle. That is how the muscle gets its nutrients and the basic energy units.
Structure of the Pronator Quadratus
The pronator quadratus basically is a muscle that is in a rectangular shape and is present on the distal forearm. Being rectangular in shape it is spread out not along the length of the forearms but just near the radius which means it is present in such a pattern that the fibres of this muscle run perpendicular to the length of the forearms. This shows that this muscle doesn’t cover a large portion of the forearm but still, it carries out some major functions. This muscle is played out in such a way that it originates from the distal quarter of anterior ulna and finally the distal quarter of the radius.
This muscle is the only muscle that is attached to the radius at one end and the ulna at the other end. Basically, the pronator quadratus have two heads. The superficial head is played out in such a way that it originates from the anterior distal aspect of the Ulna shaft and then it ends at the anterior distal diaphysis of the radius. The other head of this muscle which is known as the deep head has the same origin as that of the superficial head. However it has insertion at the point proximal to the ulnar notch.
Function
Now coming towards the function of the pronator quadratus we already know that it is present in the forearm so it helps with the movement of the forearm. But to understand in detail we just knew that it specifically helps the ark to pronate. This movement is such a movement when the arm moves so that your palm is facing downward your hand. When the pronator quadratus contracts it causes that movement of lateral side if radius towards the ulna. This movement is known as a pronate movement.
Pronator Teres is another muscle that is present with the pronator quadratus and it also performs the same function. That is why even if some person lacks this particular muscle that doesn’t affect the function of the arm to pronate because the other muscle helps it to do so. Moreover, another major function performed by this muscle is that it is the only muscle that is attached to the radius and ulna as well keeps the bones bound together. That is the function that is specifically performed by the deep fibres of this muscle.
How to examine
To examine pronator quadratus you need to perform the following exam. If during that exam you need to see if you can perform this or if performing this you experience any type of pain then it means your muscles are injured or are not working well.
- Bend your elbows at the 90- degree angle of your arm or your body. Also make sure that your palms are facing up.
- Now you need to turn your arm such a way that your arm are now facing downwards.
Now if you can perform this it means your muscles are alright otherwise the doctor will continue the exam to find the exact problem.