Muscle Strain

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW:

• A muscle strain is a twist, pull, or tear of a muscle or tendon. A tendon is a strong elastic tissue that connects a muscle to a bone. You may have a muscle strain in the thigh, lower leg, arm, abdomen (stomach), or back. Muscle strains most often occur in people who do sports. Overstretching or tightening a muscle too much may cause a muscle strain. A strain may also happen when a muscle is used too much or too often without rest. Older age, working the muscle hard, and having injured the same muscle in the past increase your risk of getting a muscle strain. Muscle strains can be mild, moderate, or severe. Your treatment may depend on how bad your muscle strain is.
  
  
• Signs of a strained muscle include bruising and swelling over the area, pain with movement, and loss of strength. A computed tomography (CT) scan, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or x-ray may be done to check your injury. You may need to rest the muscle for a time, and use medicine to decrease pain and swelling. Caregivers may suggest injections (shots) into the muscle, physical therapy, or surgery. With treatment, you may be able to go back to your activity as soon as possible, and prevent another muscle strain.

AFTER YOU LEAVE:

Medicines:

• Keep a written list of the medicines you take, the amounts, and when and why you take them. Bring the list of your medicines or the pill bottles when you see your caregivers. Learn why you take each medicine. Ask your caregiver for information about your medicine. Do not use any medicines, over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, herbs, or food supplements without first talking to caregivers.
  
  
• Always take your medicine as directed by caregivers. Call your caregiver if you think your medicines are not helping or if you feel you are having side effects. Do not quit taking your medicines until you discuss it with your caregiver. If you are taking medicine that makes you drowsy, do not drive or use heavy equipment.

• Pain medicine: You may use medicine to take away or decrease pain, such as a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Some pain medicines may also help decrease swelling. These medicines are safe for most people to use. However, they can cause serious problems when used by people with certain medical conditions. Before using this medicine, tell caregivers if you have liver or kidney disease, a history of bleeding in your stomach, or any other medical problems. Also tell your caregiver about any allergies you have to medicines. Your caregiver will tell you if you should use this medicine. If you do use this medicine, it should only be used for 3 to 7 days.
  
  
• Muscle relaxers: This is medicine to help your muscles relax. When your muscles relax, you may move more easily and have less pain.

Ask your caregiver when to return for a follow-up visit. Keep all appointments. Write down any questions you may have. This way you will remember to ask these questions during your next visit.

• Your caregiver may suggest that you have a follow-up visit before you go back to your usual activity.
  
  

Treating muscle strains:

• Three to 7 days after the injury: The most used treatment for a muscle strain right after it happens is Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation (RICE). Doing this may help stop bleeding (bruising), and decrease pain and swelling.
  
  
  • Rest: Rest your muscle to allow your injury to heal. When the pain decreases, begin normal, slow movements. For mild and moderate muscle strains, you should rest your muscles for about two days. However, if you have a severe muscle strain, rest should be for 10 to 14 days. If your muscle strain is in your legs or lower body, you may need to use crutches to walk.
    
    
  • Ice: Put an ice pack on the injured area. Do not put the ice pack directly on your skin. Put a towel between the ice pack and your skin. A package of frozen peas or other small vegetables in a thin towel can be used instead of an ice pack.
    
    
  • Compression: You may need to wrap an elastic bandage around the area to decrease swelling. It should be tight enough for you to feel support. Do not wrap it too tightly.
    
    
  • Elevation: Keep the injured muscle raised above your heart if possible. For example if you have a strain of your lower leg muscle, lie down and prop your leg up on pillows. Doing this helps decrease pain and swelling.
  
  
• Three to 21 days after the injury: During this time, there is less swelling, redness and pain. Your strained muscle should be moved and used, as this will help it begin healing. Start to slowly and regularly exercise your muscle. If you feel pain, decrease how hard you are exercising.
  
  
• One to 6 weeks after the injury: Stretch the injured muscle. Hold the stretch for about 30 seconds. Do this four times a day. You may stretch the muscle until you feel a slight pulling, but no pain. Stop stretching the muscle if you feel pain.
  
  
• Two weeks to 6 months after the injury: The goal of this phase is to return to the activity you were doing before the injury happened, without hurting the muscle again. For example, if you have felt no pain for two weeks, you may cross-train. You could try other sports such as bicycling, swimming, or pool jogging, and then begin running again.
  
  
• Three weeks to 6 months after the injury: This is the last phase of the healing process. Keep stretching and strengthening your muscles to avoid getting hurt again. You may also do core (stomach and back) strengthening exercises such as sit-ups. Slowly increase the time and distance that you exercise. You may do many things to help your muscle strain heal, but still have signs and symptoms of it six months after the injury. In this case, caregivers may talk to you about having surgery on the muscle.

Preventing muscle strains:

• Always use proper footwear when playing sports. Replace your old running shoes with new ones often if you are a runner. Use special shoe inserts or arch supports to correct leg or foot problems. Ask your caregiver for more information on shoe supports.
  
  
• Do warm up and cool down exercises. You may do stretching exercises before working out or doing sports activities. These exercises will help loosen and decrease stress on your muscles. Cool down and stretch after your workout. Do not stop and rest very quickly after a workout. Cool down exercises help your muscles prepare to rest.
  
  
• Drink plenty of liquids during and after exercise. Men 19 years old and older should drink about 3.0 Liters of liquid each day (close to 13 eight-ounce cups). Women 19 years old and older should drink about 2.2 Liters of liquid each day (close to 9 eight-ounce cups). People who play sports may need to drink more than this.
  
  
• Eat high carbohydrate foods. Eat foods that are high in carbohydrates such as corn, bread or rice before exercising. This will give your muscles the energy they need to avoid fatigue.
  
  
• Keep your muscles strong by doing strength training exercises. Having strong muscles can help prevent another injury. Exercises such as weight lifting, and stretching exercises may help keep your muscles flexible and strong. Ask a caregiver to teach you how to do strength training exercises correctly.
  
  
• Slowly start your exercise or sports training program as directed by your caregiver. Slowly increase time, distance, and how often you train. Sudden increases in how often you train may cause you to injure your muscle again. If you injured your leg area, you may walk before running and slowly increase the time or distance.

For more information:

• American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
  6300 North River Road
  Rosemont, IL 600184262
  Phone: 1-847-8237186
  Web Address: http://www.aaos.org/
  

CONTACT A CAREGIVER IF:

• The area of your muscle strain becomes very swollen and feels tight.
  
  
• Your pain and swelling worsen or do not go away.
  
  
• You have questions or concerns about your muscle strain and it's treatment.

SEEK CARE IMMEDIATELY IF:

• You suddenly cannot feel or move your injured muscle.
  
  

Copyright © 2008 Thomson Healthcare Inc. All rights reserved. Information is for End User's use only and may not be sold, redistributed or otherwise used for commercial purposes.

The above information is an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you.

Link to Page

Print Page

Email Page