What causes Gregory House’s permanent leg injury in House, M.D.?

Gregory House’s permanent leg injury was caused by a quadriceps infarction.

In House, M.D., House suffers an infarction in the quadriceps muscle of his right thigh. The muscle damage leaves him with chronic pain and a pronounced limp. He ultimately undergoes surgery that removes dead muscle tissue, but the injury remains a defining physical and psychological part of his character.

House uses a cane and relies on pain medication, particularly Vicodin, to manage the continuing pain. The injury also explains why his gait is impaired rather than presenting it as a simple bone fracture or ordinary sports injury.

The storyline is often simplified as “a leg infarction,” but the more specific description is an infarction of the quadriceps muscle. This detail matters because the show connects the muscle death, surgery, chronic pain, and later addiction storyline into one continuous piece of House’s biography.