If you have worked out for any amount of time at all, you’ve probably pulled a muscle you may not know why those aching muscles occur. Fitness Magazine says it best, “Every time you exercise, you put microscopic tears in your muscles. That’s what’s behind that next-day hurts-so-good soreness. And after your body repairs these tears, you become stronger, faster, and fitter. But if you stretch a muscle too far, lift too much, or are working out with a muscle imbalance, you might not just have microscopic tears to deal with. You could literally tear your muscle into pieces.”
Still wondering if your post-workout pain is a strain? Fitness Magazine says, “Typically, the pain will be sharp, intense, and localized to one specific spot along your muscle,” Beckstrand says. “Massaging the area will likely hurt, and you may even feel a knot. While it generally hurts less when you’re resting the muscle, it may still feel uncomfortable and spasm.”
Here are the 7 steps to treat a pulled muscle so you can get back to the gym pronto.
1. Elevate, compress, and ice it.
The sooner you can get the pulled muscle above your heart, apply compression, and ice it, the better, Hamilton says. All will help reduce inflammation and keep blood from pooling in your muscle—because, yes, torn muscles can bleed. Ice it for 15 minutes every hour or two for at least 24 hours following the pull, and continue elevating the area for an entire week whenever possible,
2 Avoid pain medications.
Granted, of course, you can bear it. “Pain medications like over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs may not be your friend here,” Hamilton says. “By interfering with the normal inflammatory process—an important part of healing—pain medications may interfere with the cascade of events needed to jump-start tissue regeneration and repair.” If you do take pain meds, make sure to follow the bottle’s directions. If they say to take two, don’t go ahead and take three.
3. Watch for bruising.
If a bruise pops up around the pain site, your pulled muscle is likely serious. Bruising occurs when the muscle is torn so badly that it bleeds into your body, Hamilton says. That’s a surefire sign you need to go to the doctor. But keep in mind, if the tear is deep in your muscle, it could take a few days for any blood to rise to your skin’s surface and cause bruising, she says.
4.Don’t stretch or roll it out.
At least don’t do it immediately after pulling it. After all, stretching a sprained muscle will only pull the torn ends farther apart, potentially making things a whole lot worse, Hamilton says. The same goes for foam rolling. “Give it a chance to try to knit back together before you get too aggressive with the foam roller. There’s a time and place for that but it’s not in the acute phase,” she says.
5. See a doctor.
“The biggest issue I see with muscle strains is people wait way too long before they come in to get help,” Beckstrand says. After a few weeks, your body has already tried to heal itself, which often results in permanent scarring and tissue damage. “Rehab for a muscle strain becomes much more difficult with time,” he says. “My recommendation is that if you’re experiencing symptoms of a muscle strain injury, don’t let symptoms go on for longer than two weeks without consulting your medical provider.”
6.Take it easy.
Depending on the severity of your strain, you may need to take anywhere from a few days to a few months off of exercise so that the muscle can heal itself. When you do head back to the gym, start with gentle bodyweight exercises (no plyometrics), Beckstrand says.
7. Consider what went wrong.
As long as your pulled muscle isn’t a case of “I tripped and fell,” you need to address the cause of your muscle pull, Hamilton says. You may have a muscle imbalance that, if left untreated, will continue to contribute muscle strain. (For instance, runners often suffer hamstring tears because their glutes are too weak, she says.)
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