A muscle strain, or pulled muscle, occurs when your muscle is overstretched or torn. This usually occurs as a result of fatigue, overuse, or improper use of a muscle. Strains can happen in any muscle, but they’re most common in your lower back, neck, shoulder, and hamstring, which is the muscle behind your thigh.
These strains can cause pain and may limit movement within the affected muscle group. Mild to moderate strains can be successfully treated at home with ice, heat, and anti-inflammatory medications. Severe strains or tears may require medical treatment.
- You’ll usually feel a muscle strain as it occurs. Symptoms include:
- sudden onset of pain
- soreness
- limited range of movement
- bruising or discoloration
- swelling
- a “knotted-up” feeling
- muscle spasms
- stiffness
- weakness
In a mild sprain, a torn muscle may feel slightly stiff, but still flexible enough for use. A severe muscle strain is when the muscle is severely torn. This results in pain and very limited movement.
The symptoms of mild to moderate muscle strains usually go away within a few weeks. More severe strains may take months to heal.
Strain | |
---|---|
Other names | Muscle strain, pulled muscle, torn muscle |
Two images of the same strain to the hamstring and associated bruising. One of the pictures was shot through a mirror. | |
Specialty | Emergency medicine |
Symptoms | Bruise, swelling, redness, and soreness |
- Protect the strained muscle from further injury.
- Rest the strained muscle. …
- Ice the muscle area (20 minutes every hour while awake). …
- Compression can be gently applied with an Ace or other elastic bandage, which can both provide support and decrease swelling.


Check if you have a sprain or strain
It’s likely to be a sprain or strain if:
- you have pain, tenderness, or weakness – often around your ankle, foot, wrist, thumb, knee, leg, or back
- the injured area is swollen or bruised
- you cannot put weight on the injury or use it normally
- you have muscle spasms or cramping – where your muscles painfully tighten on their own
Causes of muscle strains
An acute muscle strain is when your muscle tears suddenly and unexpectedly. Such tears can occur either from injuries or trauma. This can be due to:
- not warming up properly before physical activity
- poor flexibility
- poor conditioning
- overexertion and fatigue
There’s a misconception that only rigorous exercises and workouts of high-intensity cause muscle strains. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, muscle strains can even occur from walking.
An acute strain can happen when you:
- slip or lose your footing
- jump
- run
- throw something
- lift something heavy
- lift something while you’re in an awkward position
Acute muscle strains are also more common in cold weather. This is because muscles are stiffer in lower temperatures. It’s important to take extra time to warm up in these conditions to prevent strains.
Chronic muscle strains are the result of repetitive movement. This can be due to:
- sports like rowing, tennis, golf, or baseball
- holding your back or neck in an awkward position for long periods of time, such as when you work at a desk
- poor posture
What are the 3 types of a muscle strain?
- Grade 1: Mild damage to individual muscle fibers (less than 5% of fibers) that causes minimal loss of strength and motion.
- Grade 2: More extensive damage with more muscle fibers involved. …
- Grade 3: Complete rupture of a muscle or tendon.
- Pain or tenderness.
- Redness or bruising.
- Limited motion.
- Muscle spasms.
- Swelling.
- Muscle weakness.
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- Tuna (for Omega 3) …
- Nuts (for B-Complex Vitamins)
A muscle strain, or pulled muscle, occurs when your muscle is overstretched or torn. This usually occurs as a result of fatigue, overuse, or improper use of a muscle. Strains can happen in any muscle, but they’re most common in your lower back, neck, shoulder, and hamstring, which is the muscle behind your thigh.
These strains can cause pain and may limit movement within the affected muscle group. Mild to moderate strains can be successfully treated at home with ice, heat, and anti-inflammatory medications. Severe strains or tears may require medical treatment.
How to treat sprains and strains yourself
For the first couple of days, follow the 4 steps known as RICE therapy to help bring down swelling and support the injury:
- Rest – stop any exercise or activities and try not to put any weight on the injury.
- Ice – Apply an ice pack (or a bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a tea towel) to the injury for up to 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours.
- Compression – wrap a bandage around the injury to support it.
- Elevate – keep it raised on a pillow as much as possible.
To help prevent swelling, try to avoid heat (such as hot baths and heat packs), alcohol, and massages for the first couple of days.
When you can move the injured area without pain stopping you, try to keep moving it so the joint or muscle does not become stiff.
Think of your muscles like a piece of fabric that you are holding in front of you between your two hands. If I were to pull on that fabric, it would stretch up to a certain point. If I then continued to pull some of those fibers would start to break. Eventually, given enough force, the entire piece of fabric would rip right in half. Our muscles are very similar. They can tolerate stretching up to a certain point before structural damage starts to occur. Muscle strains, or “tears”, happen when a muscle is pulled or stretched beyond its physiological range or capability. The muscle fibers then literally “tear” apart similar to the cloth analogy. This tearing is usually a result of too much stretch (a passive pulling of the muscle) or too much strain/trying to lift too heavy, too much, etc (an active pulling of the muscle).
After an acute muscle pull, the best principles to follow are the acronym R.I.C.E (I actually wrote a whole article on the steps to take after an acute injury – you can check it out here). REST – take it easy for 3-5 days; don’t exert the muscle for fear of re-injury. ICE – keeping it cold will decrease inflammation and pain. COMPRESSION – neoprene sleeves, ace wraps, compression garments, etc will offer support and protection during this injury phase. ELEVATION – keeps swelling to a minimum. Gentle stretching to the area will also help and regular dosing of anti-inflammatories will help take the edge off. After 3-7 days (depending on your tolerance and the extent of the injury) introducing GENTLE exercises (initially bodyweight only) will help the muscle to recover faster benefits of Massage for Muscle Pulls.
Benefits of Massage for Pulled & Strained Muscles
Massage. Therapeutic massage helps loosen tight muscles and increase blood flow to help heal damaged tissues. Applying pressure to the injured muscle tissue also helps remove excess fluid and cellular waste products. A 2012 study found that massage immediately following an injury may even speed strained muscle healing.
Twice a week for the first four to six weeks then gradually increase the time between sessions as symptoms improve. Chronic backaches and migraines can also be treated with a regular home massage service to help reduce muscle tension.
- Drink a lot of water. Hydrating after a workout is key to recovery. …
- Get enough sleep. Getting proper rest is easily one of the most effective ways to recover from any form or degree of physical exertion. …
- Eat nutritious food. …
- Massage.
There are a number of reasons massage therapy is a highly recommended part of any injury recovery plan.
General benefits of massage
Deep tissue massages are the most recommended option and they can help to release fluids and tension within the muscles. With this option, the results are generally delayed, but the following day athletes report feeling noticeably better.
Five ways massage can help athletes recover from injuries
- Better overall nutrition in the muscles. Put simply, the muscles will be healthier and circulation will be improved. During or after a massage, an athlete will have a boost in the interchange of substances between the cells of the tissue and the blood. The result is increased tissue metabolism. Massage can help maximize nutrients and oxygen by increasing blood flow. Together this can all help the body repair itself.
- Improved muscle flexibility. The better an athlete’s range of motion and the more flexible their muscles are, the more power and performance they’ll have. This helps athletes work out more efficiently and keep the intensity at a safe level. It also helps their body’s muscle-building to improve.
- Shortened recovery time. Lactic acid and carbonic acid are just two of the waste products that can build up within the muscles post-exercise. When circulation is increased to these muscles, they can more quickly get rid of these toxins, and recovery time between workouts can be shortened.
- Help with preventing over-training. Muscles need to relax, and massage can help them do that. Sports massage also acts somewhat like a sedative on the athlete’s nervous system, which can help the syndrome known as “over-training.” When athletes over-train, they can’t build muscles as effectively.
- Prevention of future injuries. When a massage therapist stretches the connective tissue, it helps improve the circulation to help prevent adhesions. It can also influence how much of certain chemicals are excreted, including phosphorous, sulfur, and nitrogen. These chemicals are all needed for the body’s tissue to repair itself.
The different types of massage therapy
- Swedish massage. This is what most people think of when they imagine massage. The purpose is to relax the whole body. Swedish massage therapists rub the muscles with long strokes, following the direction blood takes to get back to the heart. It can also be helpful to increase the level of oxygen in the blood, lowering muscle toxins, aiding flexibility, boosting circulation, and removing tension.
- Trigger point massage therapy. Trigger points are areas within muscle tissue that are tight and cause pain in a different part of the body. This option is geared toward getting rid of the source of pain. It uses a series of pressure and releases maneuvers, during which the person being massaged actively participates by breathing deeply and noting where and how much it hurts.
- Deep tissue massage. This is similar to Swedish massage but, as the name implies, it users deeper pressure that helps to release tension even further. Deep tissue massage therapists focus on the deep layers of muscles and tendons.
- Sports massage. Specifically designed for athletes, sports massage techniques vary based on the sport the client plays. Generally, the sports massage therapist will focus on the areas of the body that athletes in that particular sport generally overuse.
more info at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulled_hamstring
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strain_(injury)
https://barmethod.com/fun-facts-about-how-muscles-heal/
https://www.hss.edu/conditions_muscle-strain.asp
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120201141710.htm

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