Anatomy and Stretching 101
The medial compartment of the thigh The Anatomy • The muscles of the medial compartment of the thigh comprise the adductor group, consisting of the adductor longus, brevis, magnus, gracilis and obturator externus. • In general, they attach proximally to the anteroinferior external surface of the bony pelvis and distally to the linea aspera of the femur (images below). • Their actions are more complex than pulling the thigh towards the midline of the body. From the anatomical position, the main action of the adductor group is to pull the thigh medially, toward or past the median plane, e.g., pulling the legs together when riding a horse. This is known as frontal plane movement. • With the leg in flexion they can assist with extension and with the leg in extension, they can assist with flexion. This is described as sagittal plane function. • They are also used to stabilize the stance when standing on both feet and to correct a lateral sway of the trunk. • The adductor compartment constitutes a large muscle mass. They are separated from the anterior and posterior compartments by fascial intermuscular septa.