What medical injury caused Gregory House’s permanent leg pain in House M.D.?

Muscle infarction caused Gregory House’s permanent leg pain in House M.D. The condition damaged the quadriceps muscle in his right thigh and led to the limp central to his character.

House’s leg problem began when a blood clot blocked circulation to the muscle. He initially underwent treatment intended to preserve the leg, but the resulting damage left him with chronic pain and reduced function. He later relied on a cane and misused Vicodin to manage the pain.

The show reveals parts of this history through flashbacks and later dialogue rather than explaining everything in its opening episodes. That delayed backstory helps connect House’s physical disability with his guarded, irritable behavior.

The injury is often loosely described as a leg injury or a clot, but those phrases are incomplete. The specific medical condition identified in the character’s biography is muscle infarction, involving the quadriceps.