Mild Muscle Strains and Low Grade Tears
Have you ever felt a small twinge in you muscle during activity?
Often when people subtly strain or tear their muscle they think nothing of it in the first instance, it may even feel like a sudden cramp. It isn’t until after the activity or when you’re testing out the muscle that you start to notice that something feels ‘off’. This may be a muscle strain.
Fact
Muscles strains are most likely to occur with sudden acceleration or deceleration activity. This type of movement is common in activities such as field sports (e.g. soccer, rugby, hockey etc), but may also happen with lower grade movements (e.g. taking off to walk across the street!).
What Happens When You Strain or Tear a Muscle
The load or intensity of the activity is greater than the integrity of the muscle. This causes the muscle to tear, bleed and swell. As a result, you are likely to get pain, muscle weakness and reduced function.
What Potentially Makes You Vulnerable to a Muscle Strain or Tear
- Inadequate warm-up
- Muscle tightness or imbalances
- Fatigue or overuse
- Small recovery/rest times between sessions
- Previous injuries
- Poor technique
Importance of Appropriate Management of a Muscle Strain or tear
Once you have experienced one muscle strain it is likely that you will experience another in the future. Therefore, management and knowing the appropriate preventative methods are crucial.
What To Do If You Think You Might Have a Muscle Strain or Tear
- (The first 48-72 hours): Best management is rest, ice, compression and elevation. During this time, you should not be doing vigorous exercise, applying heat or stretching the muscle as this slows the recovery process.
- Visit your physio to get a correct diagnosis, and the degree of your muscle strain. This is important as time frames and rehabilitation programs differ depending on the grade of tear that has occurred.
- Commence a rehabilitation programming that will promote tissue healing to allow for the appropriate recovery of your muscle. Your physio will also help to guide you with appropriate treatment and exercises so that you are able to return to your specific activity, whatever that may be.Appropriate management in the first instance helps prevent ongoing issues and recurrence of the injury at a future date. It is important to learn what is going on and how best to manage this to get you back on track swiftly.
If we can help you or someone you know with a muscle strain, it is a simple as clicking here to book online, or giving us a buzz on 5532 0999. We will help you get back on track to reaching your health goals!
