How To Treat A Pulled Muscle Quickly?

A pulled muscle is acquired when the muscle is torn or overstretched. This is caused by overuse, fatigue, and indelicate use of the muscle. Muscle strain can occur on any body muscle but it is more frequent on the lower back, neck, hamstring, and shoulder. You may be wondering how to treat a pulled muscle effectively. There are a lot of treatments for a pulled muscle, however, regular physical activity still plays a big role in preventing this to happen. The HomeGymAustralia.com.au website can provide equipment suitable for people with muscle problems.

 

Signs Of Muscle Strain

Symptoms of pulled muscle can be felt abruptly and it includes the following:

1. Unanticipated pain on several parts of the body. This is when you suddenly felt pain may be on your back, joints, and shoulders.
2. Muscle soreness usually occurs after an intense workout that includes heavy weightlifting or extreme force.
3. A limited range of movement can be experienced when your joints or a body part feels restricted to do its normal range of motion.
4. A strained muscle can affect small blood vessels causing internal bleeding, thus resulting in visible bruising and discoloration.
5. Swelling is also a sign of pulled muscle. If you experience this, try to put a warm towel on the part that’s swelling.
6. Muscle spasm is the result of inflammation caused by muscle overstretching. This can result in severe back pain and may be considered a serious injury.
7. A pulled muscle can also feel slightly stiff but manageable enough to move.
8. Lastly, the most common symptom is muscle weakness. You can feel that your muscles are too weak to move or at least carry heavy things that you used to carry.

 

What Causes Pulled Muscle

A muscle strain occurs suddenly when the muscle is overstretched and over forced because the muscles are torn. Some of the reasons are:

• Not doing warm-ups before doing any physical activity. A 5-10 minute warm-up is an important part of working out. Before doing extreme physical activities, you may opt to do warm-up exercises like jumping jacks, arm circles, leg swings, squats, lunges, and planks. Doing warm-ups will prepare your muscles for the physical activity accordingly.
• Poor flexibility is also a cause of muscle strain. Being idle or inactive for too long can affect the soft tissues where the muscle belongs.
• Poor physical condition has a huge responsibility in keeping your muscle strong and healthy. Your overall health plays an important role in the state of your muscle. A strong muscle is parallel to strong physical condition.

 

Muscle Strain First Aid

Muscle strain can be painful when it occurs, good thing there are several home remedy or first aid treatments to ease and lessen the pain:

1. Take anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen and naproxen. These medicines will in reducing the pain and improve your ability to make movements. Consult your doctor immediately if you have any allergies on the said drugs.
2. Avoid too many movements. Rest, protect, compress, and ice the body part where the muscle strain occurs. Remove any clothing that is too restrictive to give your muscle more space. Protect the restrained muscle from further injury, rest for a while, and avoid movements that can trigger the pain. Put a towel filled with cubes of ice on the muscle area for approximately 20 minutes, this will help in reducing the pain.
3. Elevate the affected area if possible. Muscle strains on the legs can be easily relieved if you will place your leg a little higher while you are sitting.
4. Physical activities that require too much force are strictly prohibited until the injury has significantly improved.

 

Medical Treatments

Muscle strain usually occurs on athletes and people who are overusing their muscles in sports and physical activities. Sports medicine pivots on helping people achieve their athletic goals by improving their performance, healing their injuries, and treat muscle pain and muscle sores.

Professionals from sports medicine do not only treat athletes but also people suffering from injuries caused by accidents. Their main goal is to help the patient recover and regain the full function of their injured body parts.

There are different kinds of sports medicine professionals that are specializing in particular cases.

The sports medicine doctors who provide primary care focuses on sprains, strains, dislocation, fractures, ligament injuries, overuse injuries, cartilage injuries, exercise-induced asthma, stress fractures, and illness.

Orthopedic sports medicine doctors are more focused on treating limb and spine deformities, bones and joint infections, apophysitis, and gait abnormalities.

Certified athletic trainers on the other hand are in charge of examining the injured persons’ injuries and fractures. They provide initial care, assessment, doctor referral, rehabilitation, and determining if the person is ready to play sports again. They have a solid work relationship with physicians and physical therapists.

Physical therapists can also help in treating muscle strain. They have gone through extensive training and program to be able to learn special techniques and strategies. Their services include  electric stimulation, manual therapy, therapeutic training, and massage. Wayne Massage in Sydney is known for wide range of massage services in the area, visit them to receive relax and comfort that you wanted for.

Chiropractors focus on the spine and alignment problems to treat an injury or muscle strain.

 

Avoiding Muscle Strain And Injuries

Doing physical activities and being physically active is essential in keeping your muscles strong and healthy. Muscle strains can be prevented by doing the following:

1. Daily stretching. A short period of stretching every morning could go a long way. It doesn’t have to be too exhausting and draining. Simple stretching exercises will help you improve your flexibility. Try to incorporate all parts of your body from head to toe.
2. Start doing physical activities. Our body needs at least a few hours of physical activity every day to maintain its healthy shape. Basic physical activities like running and swimming can awaken the muscle and prevent the frequent occurrence of muscle strain.

Pulled muscles can be easily treated with proper care and maintenance. The more that you try to stay flexible, healthy, and strong, the lesser the chance of muscle strain to come up.