How can you effectively treat a pulled muscle. What are the risk factors for muscle strains. Which prevention strategies can help avoid muscle injuries. What is the RICE method for treating muscle strains. When should you seek medical attention for a pulled muscle. How long does it take to recover from a muscle strain. What are the best exercises to prevent muscle pulls.

Understanding Pulled Muscles: Causes and Common Locations

Pulled muscles, also known as muscle strains, occur when muscle fibers are overstretched or torn. These injuries are prevalent among athletes and fitness enthusiasts but can happen to anyone during daily activities. Understanding the causes and typical locations of muscle strains is crucial for prevention and proper treatment.

What causes muscle strains?

Muscle strains often result from:

• Overexertion during physical activities
• Poor conditioning
• Inadequate warm-up before exercise
• Fatigue
• Sudden, forceful movements

Where do muscle strains commonly occur?

While any muscle can be strained, certain areas are more susceptible to injury:

1. Lower back
2. Neck
3. Shoulders
4. Hamstrings (back of the thigh)

These areas often bear significant stress during physical activities, making them more prone to strains.

Diagnosing Muscle Strains: Signs and Symptoms

Recognizing the signs of a muscle strain is essential for prompt and appropriate treatment. Many people report a distinct sensation when a strain occurs.

What does a muscle strain feel like?

The hallmark of a muscle strain is often described as a “popping” or “snapping” sensation. This feeling occurs as the muscle tissue stretches beyond its limit and tears. Following this initial sensation, individuals typically experience:

• Sudden, sharp pain in the affected area
• Swelling and inflammation
• Reduced range of motion
• Muscle weakness
• Bruising (in more severe cases)

The RICE Method: A Proven Approach to Treating Muscle Strains

The RICE method remains one of the most widely recommended approaches for managing mild to moderate muscle strains. This acronym stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation, each component playing a crucial role in the healing process.

How does the RICE method work?

• Rest: Avoid using the injured muscle to prevent further damage and allow healing.
• Ice: Apply cold packs to the affected area for 20 minutes, 4-8 times daily, to reduce swelling and pain.
• Compression: Use an elastic bandage to apply gentle pressure, which helps minimize swelling.
• Elevation: Keep the injured area raised above heart level to decrease blood flow and reduce swelling.

While RICE is effective, it’s important to note that some health professionals are now advocating for newer approaches, such as the PEACE and LOVE method, which incorporates more active recovery strategies.

Beyond RICE: Advanced Treatment Options for Muscle Strains

While the RICE method is suitable for many muscle strains, more severe cases may require additional interventions. Understanding these options can help you make informed decisions about your treatment.

What are the advanced treatment options for severe muscle strains?

• Medication: Over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen can help manage pain and swelling.
• Physical Therapy: A structured program of exercises and stretches can aid recovery and prevent future injuries.
• Surgery: In rare cases of complete muscle tears, surgical intervention may be necessary to repair the damage.

When should you seek medical attention for a muscle strain?

While many muscle strains can be treated at home, certain symptoms warrant professional medical evaluation:

• Severe pain that doesn’t improve with rest
• Inability to move the affected limb
• Significant swelling or bruising
• Numbness or tingling in the injured area
• Symptoms that persist for more than a week despite home treatment

The PEACE and LOVE Method: A Modern Approach to Muscle Strain Recovery

As our understanding of injury recovery evolves, new approaches like the PEACE and LOVE method are gaining traction. This two-phase strategy offers a comprehensive framework for managing muscle strains from the moment of injury through the rehabilitation process.

What is the PEACE and LOVE method?

The PEACE approach is implemented immediately after injury:

• Protect the injury from further harm
• Elevate the affected area
• Avoid anti-inflammatory treatments
• Compress the injured muscle
• Educate yourself about the recovery process

The LOVE phase follows, focusing on active recovery:

• Load the muscle gradually
• Optimism about recovery
• Vascularization through cardiovascular exercise
• Exercise to restore function and strength

Prevention Strategies: Reducing the Risk of Muscle Strains

While it’s impossible to eliminate the risk of muscle strains entirely, several strategies can significantly reduce your chances of experiencing this painful injury.

How can you prevent muscle strains?

• Proper Warm-up: Dedicate time to gradually increase your heart rate and stretch your muscles before intense activity.
• Strength Training: Regular resistance exercises can build muscle strength and resilience.
• Flexibility Exercises: Incorporate stretching routines to maintain and improve muscle flexibility.
• Gradual Progression: Increase the intensity and duration of your workouts gradually to allow your muscles to adapt.
• Proper Form: Learn and maintain correct technique during exercises and sports activities.
• Adequate Rest: Allow your body sufficient time to recover between workouts.
• Hydration and Nutrition: Maintain proper hydration and a balanced diet to support muscle health.

Recovery Timeline: What to Expect After a Muscle Strain

Understanding the typical recovery timeline for muscle strains can help manage expectations and ensure proper healing. The duration of recovery can vary significantly depending on the severity of the strain and the individual’s overall health.

How long does it take to recover from a muscle strain?

Recovery times generally fall into three categories:

• Grade I (Mild): 2-4 weeks
• Grade II (Moderate): 4-8 weeks
• Grade III (Severe): 8-12 weeks or longer

It’s crucial to follow your healthcare provider’s guidance and avoid rushing back to full activity before your muscle has adequately healed. Returning too soon can increase the risk of re-injury and prolong the overall recovery process.

What are the stages of muscle strain recovery?

The healing process typically progresses through several stages:

1. Inflammation (0-3 days): The body’s initial response to injury, characterized by swelling and pain.
2. Repair (3-21 days): New muscle fibers begin to form, and scar tissue develops.
3. Remodeling (21 days – several months): Scar tissue is reorganized, and muscle strength gradually improves.

Rehabilitation Exercises: Rebuilding Strength After a Muscle Strain

Once the acute phase of a muscle strain has passed, incorporating targeted exercises can help restore strength, flexibility, and function to the affected area. It’s essential to begin these exercises under the guidance of a healthcare professional to ensure they are appropriate for your specific injury.

What exercises are beneficial for muscle strain recovery?

While specific exercises will depend on the location and severity of the strain, some general categories of beneficial exercises include:

• Gentle Stretching: To improve flexibility and prevent stiffness
• Isometric Exercises: Contracting muscles without movement to build strength
• Progressive Resistance Training: Gradually increasing the load on muscles as they heal
• Balance and Proprioception Exercises: To improve coordination and reduce the risk of future injuries
• Functional Movements: Exercises that mimic daily activities or sport-specific motions

Remember to start slowly and progress gradually. Pain during exercises should be minimal and should not persist after the activity. If you experience increased pain or discomfort, it’s crucial to consult with your healthcare provider or physical therapist to adjust your rehabilitation plan.

How can you safely return to sports after a muscle strain?

Returning to sports or intense physical activity after a muscle strain requires a careful, phased approach:

1. Regain Full Range of Motion: Ensure the affected muscle can move through its complete range without pain.
2. Restore Strength: Build strength in the injured muscle to match the uninjured side.
3. Sport-Specific Training: Gradually introduce movements and activities specific to your sport or activity.
4. Functional Testing: Perform tests that simulate the demands of your sport to assess readiness.
5. Gradual Return to Play: Start with limited participation and progressively increase intensity and duration.

It’s crucial to listen to your body and not rush the return-to-play process. Consulting with a sports medicine professional can provide personalized guidance and help determine when it’s safe to resume full participation in your chosen activity.

Treatment Options, Risks, and Prevention

The RICE (rest, ice, compress, elevate) method is the most common way to treat mild muscle strains, but there are other approaches. More severe cases may need medication, physical therapy, or surgery.

Overexerting your body can lead to numerous injuries. A muscle strain, or pulled muscle, occurs when your muscle is overstretched or torn. This can be minor and like soreness after an intense workout, or it can be so severe that it needs medical attention.

Muscle strains are a very common injury. Most people who participate in sports have experienced it at some point in their lives. Poor conditioning, fatigue, and an improper warmup can lead to a muscle strain.

When muscle strain occurs, people often report a popping or snapping sensation. This is the feeling of the muscle tissue being stretched until it snaps. This is often a very painful experience. Strains most commonly occur in the:

• lower back
• neck
• shoulder
• hamstring muscle, which is located in the back of the thigh

There are several different ways to treat muscle strains. The extent of the treatment depends on the extent of the strain.

Diagnosing and treating a muscle strain:

• alleviates pain and inflammation
• reduces the risk of further injury
• helps you regain full use of your body
• gives your body a chance to rest and heal properly

Without proper treatment, you may experience recurring injuries or pain and weakness in the muscle during everyday use. It can be especially painful during exercise and athletic activities.

In some cases, surgery may be necessary to repair a muscle that’s torn as opposed to one that’s strained. A doctor will consider your age, type of injury, symptoms, and other factors to decide if surgery is an option. Surgery is typically only considered for severe muscle injuries.

Approaches to treatment depend on the type and severity of your injury.

If needed, anti-inflammatory pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil) or aspirin can help reduce swelling and pain.

Physical therapy may also be needed.

Surgery is sometimes considered for torn or ruptured muscles. You and your doctor will discuss all surgical or nonsurgical options available to repair your muscle.

Supplies

Most muscle strains are minor and don’t require professional medical treatment. Properly treating muscle strain requires the right supplies and a comfortable place to rest. You may need the following supplies:

• ice
• plastic bag
• towel
• compression bandage, such as an ACE bandage
• pillows
• painkillers

Depending on the muscle affected, you may need assistive devices to help stabilize the muscle, especially if it affects one of the limbs. These can include:

• crutches
• a sling
• a brace
• a wheelchair

With proper treatment, all of these devices are temporary.

RICE Method

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), the most common and effective treatment for muscle strains is the RICE method. The individual letters of RICE stand for rest, ice, compression, and elevation. In particular, RICE involves the following:

• Rest by taking an adequate amount of time to heal and avoiding physical activity. This can help strained muscles and other injuries.
• Ice your muscle by using cold packs with a barrier between them and your skin four to eight times per day for 20 minutes at a time.
• Compress your muscle by applying a steady, gentle pressure on it. This prevents swelling and inflammation, which are thought to delay healing. Wrapping an elastic bandage around the affected muscle is best.
• Elevate the injury above your heart to reduce swelling. Use pillows or other devices to raise an affected limb while you rest.

Although the RICE approach remains popular, newer approaches also exist. Some health care professionals recommend using the PEACE and LOVE method for muscle strains.

The PEACE approach is meant to be used right after your injury and during early healing. The letters in PEACE instruct you to:

• Protect the injury from irritation by reducing your use of the strained limb or area. As your pain lowers, try to get back to using the strained area as soon as possible.
• Elevate the injury above your heart to help reduce swelling, using pillows or other supports.
• Avoid anti-inflammatory treatments like NSAIDs and ice. Some believe that inflammation is important for healing a strain.
• Compress the muscle with tape or an elastic bandage.
• Educate yourself to know how long recovery can take and what to expect along the way. Talk with your doctor or health care professional.

After the first few days of rest, the LOVE method applies a more active approach to healing. The letters in LOVE stand for:

• Load: Get back to using your strained muscle as much as you can, as long as you aren’t causing pain.
• Optimism: Do your best to remain positive about your healing process.
• Vascularization: Try to find ways to get active. Working on your cardiovascular health might help you heal.
• Exercise: Do the exercises that are recommended by your doctor or health care professional, if they recommend any.

If you’re choosing between the RICE method and the PEACE and LOVE method, it’s best to discuss your options with your doctor.

There are very few risks of treating a muscle strain. However, there’s a small chance of taking too many painkillers or leaving an ice pack on the skin for too long.

If you try to use the injured area, watch out for pain or any other signs that the injury is getting worse.

Always follow dosage instructions on all prescription or over-the-counter medications. Use a barrier such as a towel between an ice pack and your skin. Allow your skin to warm up in between icing intervals.

Surgery to repair a torn muscle carries certain risks. These can include:

• bleeding
• blood clots
• infection
• pain
• stiffness
• slowed healing time

The last thing you want to do is reinjure a strained muscle. There are several ways you can prevent a muscle strain from recurring, including:

• allowing for proper time to heal from an injury
• stretching your muscles daily
• cross-training for sports by weightlifting or choosing another activity to strengthen your muscles
• warming up before exercise or intense activity
• eating foods high in potassium, like bananas and avocados, before exercise to prevent muscle fatigue
• properly hydrating during exercise

Talk with a doctor about what steps you can take to avoid muscle strains if you experience them regularly.

If you have a muscle tear that requires surgery, medication or physical therapy may be necessary after your procedure. Your doctor will provide specific follow-up instructions based on the type and severity of your injury.

#34: How to Avoid Pulled Muscles

If you’ve ever pulled a muscle, you know how painful it can be. That’s why it’s extremely important to take the proper precautions to prevent muscle strain, pulled muscles and muscle tears.

A pulled muscle occurs when you overstretch or tear the muscle. You can strain, pull or tear any muscle, but the most common muscles that get pulled are in the lower back, neck, shoulder and hamstring. Pulled muscles and muscle tears occur as a result of fatigue, lack of proper stretching and flexibility, poor conditioning, overuse, or something as simple as incorrect form during your workout.

Warm-Up and Cool Down

Before you begin your workout you’ll want to prepare your body and muscles for the demanding activity they’re about to endure. Getting your blood pumping and increasing your body temperature during your warm-up helps decrease the likelihood of muscle strain, pulled muscles and muscle tears. Warming up can include a brisk walk or light calisthenics.

The cool down period is important for muscle recovery, supporting blood circulation and sending oxygen to your muscles, which are in a deficit following a strenuous workout. Electric muscle stimulation can help speed up muscle recovery as you cool down post workout. Using PowerDot, simply set your EMS device to warm up, light recovery, active recovery, extended recovery or massage mode depending on the level of muscle stimulation you need to cool down and recover. Electrical muscle stimulation promotes blood flow and helps flush out lactic acid build up in the muscles.

Stretch Pre- and Post Workout

Stretching keeps the muscles flexible, strong and healthy, helping to maintain range of motion in the joints. It also reduces tension in muscles, supports blood circulation and can lead to increased energy levels. Performing a slow, deliberate stretch across muscle groups helps prevent muscle strain, pulled muscles and muscle tears during your workout. When stretching is not incorporated into your workout regimen, the muscles shorten and become tight, putting you at risk for joint pain, muscle strain and even muscle damage.

Incorporate Strength Training into Your Workout

Strength training is a key component in preventing muscle strain, pulled muscles and muscle tears. It improves the strength of the muscles, tendons, and even the ligaments and bones. The stronger muscles and tendons help hold the body in proper alignment, and also protect the bones and joints when moving or under impact. Muscles that are not used regularly may become weak, which presents a problem when that muscle is called into play suddenly during an activity or workout.

A weaker muscle can’t handle the sudden stress from a workout, causing injury including muscle strain, pulled muscles or muscle damage. It’s important to alternate muscle groups so you don’t overwork a particular muscle. Incorporating a full-body strength training into your workout routine will help eliminate any weak areas and balance the body for other activities. Strength training also increases speed, strength, agility and muscular endurance, which will benefit athletes of every sport.

Change Sleeping Positions

How you sleep can also help prevent and treat muscle strain, pulled muscles and muscle tears. The two ideal positions for sleeping are on your back or side. Avoid sleeping on your stomach due to the possibility of creating tension in the body. Tension in the neck and lower back can create compression of the discs, degeneration and pulled muscles.

When sleeping on your back, keep one pillow under your head and one or two under your knees. The pillow under your head should comfortably support the natural curve of your neck. The pillows under your knees should keep your lower back flat against your mattress. If you’re a side sleeper, keep one pillow under your head and one between your legs. The pillow between your legs should keep your legs parallel and prevent them from crossing over one another.

There is a science to sleep. Using electronic muscle stimulation on a regular basis helps restore muscles and ease muscle tension, allowing the body to relax and slip into a deeper, more restful sleep.This is where electrical muscle stimulation comes in to support muscle recovery, maintain health and wellness, and improve your sleep–all of which contribute to an overall healthy lifestyle.

Try Electric Muscle Stimulation (EMS)

Electrical muscle stimulation is proven to speed up muscle recovery–but don’t wait for an injury to use it. PowerDot EMS can also help prevent the injury from occurring in the first place.

You can use electric muscle stimulation to warm up for 5-7 minutes pre-workout using our warm up or light, active, or extended recovery settings. Our smart muscle stimulator helps reduce muscle discomfort and keeps inactive muscles moving. Cool down with another 5-7 minutes of massage to help relax and lengthen the muscles. Electrical muscle stimulation gently engages type 1, slow-twitch muscle fibers when used for recovery, helping to reduce muscle tightness, soreness, weakness and muscle strain as well as prevents pulled muscles, muscle tears and other injuries.

PowerDot provides a discreet solution for muscle recovery that is safe, clinically proven and FDA cleared. Apply your EMS pads on-the-go while you’re running errands or immediately post workout. Or wait until you get home, curl up on the couch with a blanket and your favorite TV show, and enjoy a hands-free massage.

Discover how you can perform better and recover faster by using EMS to oxygenate your muscles and blood.

Back muscle strain: symptoms and treatment

Back muscle strain is a common condition that is characterized by damage to muscle fibers and soft tissues. It is accompanied by pain and discomfort, aggravated by sudden movements. To restore damaged structures, it is recommended to follow the doctor’s prescriptions, attend physiotherapy and osteopathic sessions.

At Dr. Length’s clinic, all patients with back sprains use complex treatment and an individual approach. The combination of traditional methods and author’s methods of therapy allows you to get a guaranteed result in improving the patient’s well-being.

The main reason for stretching the back muscles is a sharp increase in load, which leads to damage to muscle fibers and soft tissues. This condition can occur when playing sports, at work associated with physical labor, as well as with sudden movements.

Risk factors for injury:

• weak muscular frame that cannot withstand intense motor loads;
• low level of physical activity leading to unpreparedness of the musculoskeletal system;
• traumatic injuries;
• diseases of the spine, muscular system.

These conditions are characterized by an increased risk of injury to the skeletal muscles located on the back. In this case, the patient develops characteristic symptoms.

How sprain manifests itself: signs and symptoms

The main symptom of muscle strain is a sharp pain syndrome, which is accompanied by limited mobility. The patient experiences difficulty when trying to turn the body to the side or bend over. Similar symptoms are associated with reflex muscle spasm.

Severity of pain – from mild to intense, in which any movement is impossible. The area of ​​damage may be edematous, swollen, reddened when compared with healthy areas of the body. With a traumatic origin of damage to the skin, hematomas become noticeable.

Pain in some cases extends to the groin, buttocks or thighs. This is due to irritation of the nerve bundles when they are damaged. If the pain is localized, then only soft tissues or muscles are damaged.

There are several degrees of sprain severity:

• Moderate degree is characterized by a mild pain syndrome, which disappears within 2-4 days.
• Moderate severity is associated with severe pain that limits the mobility of a person, requiring medical attention.
• Severe muscle strain results in severe swelling, bruising, limited range of motion. Symptoms persist for several weeks. During this period, the patient needs complex treatment.

If the back muscles are strained, pain persists for more than 2 days, or the inability to move the body, seek medical attention immediately.

Approaches to treatment

Stretching of the back muscles requires complex therapy. In the first 2-3 days, it is recommended to observe bed rest, complete immobilization. This allows you to avoid the progression of damage, to prevent complications of the injury. Cold compresses are used to reduce swelling. It is possible to use painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs.

The clinic practices modern methods of treatment – manual therapy, osteopathy, Di-Tazin procedures, kinesio taping and physiotherapy techniques. They work in combination, providing a quick recovery of damaged tissues, the disappearance of pain, finding balance in movements.

Di-tazine therapy

Di-tazine treatment is the author’s method of non-invasive elimination of muscle strain and other diseases of the musculoskeletal system. It combines three types of exposure: photodynamic laser therapy, multicomponent electrophoresis, manual techniques. Each of these methods has its own positive effect on the body:

• Manual techniques eliminate violations of muscle tone, ensure the normalization of blood circulation in the area of ​​injury.
• Electrophoresis with drugs allows you to stimulate the recovery of damaged muscle fibers, soft tissues. Medicines with anti-inflammatory, analgesic and stimulating effects are used.
• Photodynamic treatment with the introduction of Photoditazine into the body. This drug accumulates at the site of injury. When this area is exposed to the LED installation, the drug molecules are activated, stimulating regeneration.

The Ditazine therapy method can be used in patients of any age. The list of contraindications is minimal. The procedure is not used if the patient has benign or malignant neoplasms.

Osteopathy

This is a modern branch of medicine that differs from other areas of medical care by a comprehensive approach to the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. The best osteopaths in our clinic take into account the system nature of the human body, the individuality of reactions to any internal and external factors. Thanks to this, the doctor can establish the true root cause of the pathology, and by eliminating it, achieve a complete recovery of the patient.

In osteopathy and manual therapy, the doctor uses only his hands to influence the human body. This allows you to achieve high safety while maintaining the effectiveness of treatment. Such therapy should only be provided by a specialist who has received appropriate basic training and experience in the treatment of such diseases.

A positive therapeutic effect is observed when using exercise therapy and massage. Both methods are indicated for patients outside the acute period of stretching, when restoration of damaged structures is required. Physiotherapy exercises and massage improve blood supply to muscles and soft tissues, stimulate their regeneration, which helps to avoid complications and progression of disorders.

Kinesiology taping can be used for muscle strain. This is a modern method of prevention and treatment of such injuries, which is actively used in professional sports. Tape is a special adhesive tape applied to the back area by a specialist. Thanks to this device, the load on muscle fibers, tendons, ligaments, and soft tissues is reduced. With independent kinesio taping, the effect may be absent, since the tapes are applied in a certain way.

In addition to the above methods of treating muscle strain, medications are used, and outside the acute period, physiotherapy procedures are used. Such techniques are aimed at eliminating the symptoms of damage, primarily pain and inflammatory changes. In the clinic of Dr. Length, therapy is mainly based on modern approaches: osteopathy, manual and Di-Tazin therapy. Their combination allows you to quickly remove the clinical manifestations of the disease in patients, gradually achieving a full recovery.

Why do patients come to us?

Clinic Dr. Length has a great positive experience in the treatment of sprains of the back muscles. It became possible due to the following factors:

• Use of only modern methods of diagnostics and treatment. All our approaches are based on scientific research. The work uses the clinical recommendations of Russian and foreign medical communities.
• All specialists of the medical institution undergo regular training in the leading centers of osteopathy and manual therapy, mastering new techniques, improving their skills.
• Appointment of rehabilitation measures that allow you to restore the quality of life of the patient, prevent relapses.
• Individual approach to each patient. Stretching of the back muscles is often associated with diseases of the musculoskeletal system, internal organs or the nervous system. Thanks to osteopathy, it is possible to identify the root cause of violations, to choose methods for its elimination.

To make an appointment with a doctor, call or leave a request on the website. The administrator of the center will contact you and answer your questions.

Material verified by an expert

Mikhailov Valery Borisovich

Manual therapist, vertebrologist, neurologist

Work experience – 25 years

How to identify and cure muscle strain?

How to identify the symptoms of muscle strain for treatment?

Sprain can occur when a person lifts heavy objects too abruptly or unsafely. If a lot of time passes after the onset of the injury, but the pain is still felt, then this may not be a muscle strain, but a more serious injury.

Muscle strain can be identified by whether the pain is felt in one muscle or in several. Painful symptoms of muscle strain appear at a certain point on the muscle, in this place there may be redness, increased skin temperature, swelling.

Also keep in mind that when damaged, muscle fibers can increase to about five times the size of healthy fibers. You should check for various muscle deformities, such as depressions, bumps and bumps.

How to treat muscle strain?

To date, there have not yet been developed methods for accelerated and effective healing of sprains without complications, but there are methods that reduce pain and reduce the recovery time of the damaged muscle area.

First of all, if you still happen to encounter such an injury, you should protect yourself and try to prevent the recurrence of stretching. To do this, you need to accurately determine the cause and location of the injury.

Secondly, during the acute period of injury from severe muscle strain, it is better to refrain from physical exertion on the body, especially on the sore muscle.

Thirdly, at the beginning of rehabilitation activities, it is necessary to carry out the most painless set of exercises that do not provoke muscle stress.

Fourth, after the acute period has passed, you should move on to more thorough daily workouts.

As the rehabilitation progresses, if you manage to move on to strength training, you need to train the muscles, improve their readiness for contractions with a very gradual (not sharp) increase in load.

In case of muscle strain, first of all, a chiropractor can help, who will develop the most effective massage technique and exercise therapy.

In the case of a constant increase in pain and persistence of signs of pain for several weeks, even after therapeutic massage and exercise therapy, you need to consult a neurologist or surgeon for diagnosis, who will tell you how and how to treat muscle strain. Since we can talk about more serious injuries.

How can you help yourself immediately after an injury?

• Apply ice to the stretch;

• Try massage;

• Take a contrast shower;

• Prevent overheating of the body;

• Avoid stress on the affected muscle;

You should be very careful about the treatment of muscle strain, such as taking painkillers or injections of platelet-rich plasma. These methods have their own contraindications and complications, so they require a doctor’s appointment. If you do not have time to contact the clinic, you can use the advice of doctors online.

To prevent muscle strain, you should always warm up with stretching before the main workout, strictly alternate a moderate load on the muscles with rest. You should not start injuries received during sports – if massage and a cold compress do not help, then you need to see a doctor.

There are contraindications. Specialist consultation is required.

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