What Is a Pulled Muscle?
- Posted on: Oct 15 2020
A strained or pulled muscle can be painful, especially if you don’t take the time to rest the muscle and allow it to heal. You can pull a muscle whenever you do something that overworks or tears the muscle or tendon. A pulled muscle can happen at any time without any kind of warning. It’s something that can also affect everyone regardless of age, health, or overall level of fitness.
Common Causes of a Pulled Muscle
There are many things that can cause a pulled muscle, Lifting something heavy or lifting something using your back instead of your legs can easily strain a muscle in your back. Failing to warm up or stretching before and after you work out can also put undue strain on a muscle. Having poor posture is another common cause.
Pulled Muscle Symptoms
You may have a pulled muscle if you feel weakness or pain when using that muscle. You may notice swelling, bruising, or some redness around that area, too. Even when you’re resting, the muscle may hurt. In extreme cases, you may even find that it’s hard to use the muscle that has been strained. You may not be able to continue working after pulling a muscle and, in fact, you shouldn’t continue what you were doing because you could strain the muscle even more.
Treating a Pulled Muscle
In many cases, a pulled muscle will heal on its own with some rest, but you can help manage the pain and reduce the time it takes to heal. You can take anti-inflammatory over-the-counter medications such as ibuprofen to help with the pain. You can apply ice for 20 minutes per hour to the muscle, too, in order to get the inflammation down. After three days, you can change the ice out for a heating pad. You can wrap the muscle using a compression or elastic band to provide support and reduce swelling, but you do need to be careful. If you wrap it too tight, you’ll reduce circulation. That will affect how quickly the muscle is able to heal.
Do You Need Medical Attention?
If you are in significant pain, are unable to walk, or are experiencing major inflammation, you need to come see us here at Maximum Orthopedics right away. Your strained muscle may be more problematic than normal. Contact us today to make an appointment.
Posted in: Blog, Orthopedics, Work Injuries, Workers Compensation Benefits