Muscle Strain & Physiotherapy
Muscle Strain or Muscle Tear
As the warmer weather comes closer and the number of hours spent at the beach increases, unfortunately so does the rate of injuries to muscles and joints.
Muscle strains and joint injuries happen all year round, however as we have noticed the change in season from cold to hot can lead to an influx in people heading out for a run, walk, climb or to try their hand at water sports, and therefore the incidence of these injuries also increases.
Muscles are strong and elastic workers that attach to tendons inserting onto bone. Muscles are responsible for most of our body’s active movements. Commonly, muscle strains will occur at high speed when the muscle is over-stretched quickly or attempts to contract to carry a heavy load. The most commonly injured muscle during high speed movements include hamstring strain (pulled hamstring), quadriceps strain (Quad tear), calf strain (calf tear), groin injuries (adductor strain), and lower back strain (lower back spasm).
Severity of Injury
Muscle injuries can be classified into three categories:
Grade 1: is where the injury to the muscle causes a small amount of pain or discomfort, but there is no change in the power of the muscle. Usually few fibres of the muscle have been damaged, but it usually resolves in up to 2 weeks.
Grade 2 muscle strains are a bit more severe. The pain or discomfort is usually associated with a decrease in muscle power when tested, and these clients tend to have to “pull-up” during the activity due to the pain experienced. This is because there are a large portion of muscle fibres that have been torn or damaged, but less than 50% of the fibres in the muscle portion are affected. They can between 4-8 weeks to recover when there is a suitable rehab program in place.
Grade 3 muscle strains are more severe in nature. There is a full rupture of muscle fibres either in the muscle belly or at the musculotendinous junction (MTJ). These tend to be conservatively managed for up to 12-15 weeks, but ultimately there is a high incidence of these being surgically managed to repair the tear.
Common muscles that suffer strains and pulls at this time of year are the calves, hamstrings, groin (adductors) and quadriceps. Depending on the severity of the injury, your physiotherapist can put a program in place to start gently loading and healing the injured tissues and regain strength in the muscle as able. They can also use techniques such as soft tissue massage and dry needling to reduce pain and improve muscle function.
Muscle Strain: Physio Treatment
Our aim is to load the injured muscle safely, without disrupting the healing process and maintaining range of motion at adjacent joints that the muscle crosses over such as the ankle, knee and hip. This can be done in the early stages in many ways. Isometric strength – activating the muscle without moving the limb – can be initiated early in the rehab process and should be done as pain allows.
Subacute stage, as the muscle begins to heal and the client’s function has improved, we can add a higher load to the muscle to challenge its strength and safely improve how it manages carrying weight. Closed chain exercises - where the client’s feet are planted on the floor - initiate balance and co-ordination training. For example, squats, lunges, heel raises, and bridges can be suitable depending the individual.
In the latter stages of a muscle strain, we must ensure strength, range and function are maintained. Your physiotherapist can test the strength of an isolated muscle and adapt your program appropriately. The aim of this stage is to return to client to their desired function, be it running, swimming or playing sports. Drills that specifically train changes in direction, jumping, landing, pivoting and sprinting should be completed before discharge, and adding in ball skills for your intended sports is also necessary prior to return to sport.
Physio Tips: How to Prevent Muscle Injury?
If the thought of getting outside in the sun for some running, water-skiing or mountain biking gets you excited, then here are some things to think about to prevent muscle strains happening to you:
If you have stayed rather sedentary over the winter months, your body will need some time to get fitter and stronger for the activity you are planning to do. Most people go from 0-100MPH in the space of a week at this time of year, and your muscles will have a big job to do to keep you going during your summer activity. Try to spend some time strengthening your muscles in the gym or following a specific program to prepare your body for returning to your desired sport come Summertime.
Keep an eye on playing surface. Running and sports such as tag rugby, cricket, tennis and ultimate frisbee can be played on different surfaces depending on the time of year. Hard ground increases impact when in contact with the ground in landing, thus increasing the force applied to the muscle fibres, and may cause injury.
Always do a warm-up. Muscles are frequently injured because they are not warmed up enough or when they are exerted to large forces when running or jumping without being adequately prepared. Gentle kinetic stretching for 5-10 second holds, gentle jogging and turning, and practicing hopping, jumping and landing will reduce the likelihood of your muscles getting strained, and putting you out of action.
Reference
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4592039/