How Do You Know if You Have a Pulled Muscle?

Skilful reviewer, Will Kenton, MSK Physiotherapist at Bupa
Next review due January 2025

A muscle strain, or pulled musculus, is an injury to your muscle fibres (a torn muscle). You may strain a muscle if you stretch information technology across its normal comfortable range or make it work too hard or fast. Muscle strains are common and tin can happen to whatever muscle in your trunk.

Grading of muscle strains

Muscle strains are graded depending on how bad your injury is. This grading can ensure y'all get the right treatment.

• A form one musculus strain is slight damage to your muscle fibres. Your muscle may feel tender and y'all may have a fleck of pain. You should still accept normal force in your muscle, simply you may observe it too painful to carry on with your usual activities.
• A grade 2 strain is when more of your muscle fibres are injured. Your muscle is likely to be painful and y'all may have a trample and some swelling. You'll probably lose some strength in your muscle, which stops y'all carrying on with your usual activities.
• A grade iii musculus strain is a full tear of your musculus (all the style through it). Your muscle is usually really painful and you lot'll accept a lot of swelling and bruising. You may accept a paring under your skin at either stop of your muscle. And yous may have felt or heard a popping sensation when yous hurt your muscle. You may lose all forcefulness in your musculus so you tin't use information technology – if it's a leg muscle, you lot probably won't be able to walk on information technology.

Causes of musculus strain

There are lots of things that might crusade you to strain a muscle. Yous may strain a muscle if you:

• are exercising – for example, playing sport
• have strained a muscle in the past
• autumn
• movement or twist suddenly – for example, sprinting or catching a falling kid
• have a heavy blow to your muscle – for example when playing contact sports such as rugby
• are overweight because this puts more stress on your muscles
• do a repetitive movement that puts stress on your musculus – for example, painting a ceiling all 24-hour interval
• don't take enough strength in your muscles for the activity you're doing

You lot're besides more probable to injure your muscles if:

• you don't warm up properly before you exercise
• your muscles are tired or weak and not used to the activeness you are doing; tired muscles are less able to support your joints.

Come across our department on prevention of muscle strains beneath for means to protect yourself from strains.

Symptoms of musculus strain

Musculus strain symptoms vary depending on how astringent your injury is, but may include:

• pain
• tenderness when you bear upon the musculus
• swelling
• bruising – it can take upward to 24 hours earlier you can see the full bruise
• weakness
• loss of movement

For more than data, see our department: Grading of muscle strains higher up.

When should I seek medical help?

If you hear a pop or snap sound when you lot injure yourself, yous may accept torn a ligament or cleaved a os. You'll need to get to your local hospital's accident and emergency (A&E) for handling. Seek medical aid immediately if you have symptoms of a grade three strain.

For more than data, see our section: Grading of muscle strains above.

Self-assist for muscle strain

If your pulled musculus isn't bad, there are several things y'all tin can exercise at home to ease your symptoms and speed up your recovery.

Follow POLICE

Follow the Police procedure as soon as possible later you've hurt yourself. This volition give your muscle a run a risk to heal and to protect information technology from any more impairment.

• Protect your injury from further harm past resting it immediately. Depending on your injury, you may wish to utilise a support such as a brace.
• Optimal Loading. It's important to start moving your muscle once again sooner rather than subsequently. But but practice what feels comfortable and speak to a physiotherapist for advice on building upward your muscle force.
• Ice. Put an ice pack or ice (frozen peas is a good choice) wrapped in a towel over your injury. Keep information technology on your injury for around twenty minutes roughly every two hours.
• Compression. Wrap a bandage on your injury, only non too tightly. Accept the bandage off before you go to bed.
• Elevation. Raise your injured muscle above the level of your eye (if possible) – if you've a pulled calf muscle, for example, lie down and put your leg on a stool.

For more information, click to open our POLICE infographic (JPEG, 0.06 MB).

Avoiding HARM

In the first 72 hours, you also need to avoid anything that could make your injury worse as detailed in the HARM principle.

• Heat – don't use heat packs, hot water bottles, oestrus rubs, or take a sauna or hot bath.
• Alcohol – avoid all alcoholic drinks.
• Running – don't run, jog or do whatsoever other grade of do.
• Massage – don't massage your injury.

For more information, click to open our Damage infographic (JPEG, 0.05 MB).

Medicines for musculus strain

If you need hurting relief, yous tin can employ over-the-counter painkillers. Yous can accept paracetamol tablets or rub an ibuprofen cream or gel into your injured musculus.

Always read the patient information leaflet that comes with your medicine and, if yous have any questions, ask your chemist for communication.

Diagnosis of muscle strain

You'll commonly know if you've strained a muscle after an action because you'll feel pain straightaway or shortly subsequently. In well-nigh cases, you probably won't need to see a healthcare professional person. You may be able to manage your symptoms at home using the self-assistance measures outlined in our self-help section to a higher place.

Merely if you lot're non sure what's caused your symptoms or they're very bad or don't get amend, contact a physiotherapist or your GP. There are lots of different means to access physiotherapy – your GP may refer you to an NHS physiotherapist or you may exist able to refer yourself.

A physiotherapist or GP volition ordinarily be able to diagnose a pulled muscle past examining you and request questions about your symptoms and medical history. They'll also inquire how your injury happened. They'll then manage your treatment.

You won't unremarkably demand to accept any further tests for musculus strain. But sometimes, if your injury is very bad or the cause isn't articulate, you may need to have a examination, such equally an ultrasound or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. An ultrasound uses sound waves to create an prototype of the inside of your body and an MRI scan uses magnets and radio waves to do the same.

If yous have symptoms of a form three strain, get straight to your local blow and emergency (A&Eastward).

For more information, see our section: Grading of muscle strains above.

Treatment of muscle strain

You lot tin can usually treat mild muscle strains at home. But sometimes y'all may need to see a physiotherapist for muscle strain treatment. If you lot've completely torn your muscle, you lot may need an operation to repair it.

Physiotherapy for muscle strain

If your injury is very bad or it keeps coming back, physiotherapy may help to strengthen your damaged muscle.

Your GP may refer you to a physio or you can book an engagement yourself. You lot can besides see a physio privately.

Your physio will create a plan of exercises to gradually strengthen and stretch your muscles. These exercises will depend on the blazon of injury you have and how bad it is.

Surgery for muscle strain

You won't usually need surgery for a muscle strain. But if your injury is severe or you have a completely torn muscle, you lot may need an operation to repair it. Your GP will refer you to an orthopaedic surgeon who will explicate which type of procedure y'all need. You're most likely to need surgery if:

• you lot're not recovering as chop-chop as you should be
• your symptoms are getting worse
• you're getting new symptoms
• your symptoms are worse than they should be for your type of injury

The type of operation you demand will depend on the location of the tear and muscle involved.

Yous'll probably demand to meet a physiotherapist afterwards your surgery to get back to normal.

Recovery from muscle strain

How long it takes to recover from a pulled muscle will depend on how badly you're injured. It also depends on how active y'all need to be after. It may take you lot a few weeks to exist able to walk effectually as normal and it may accept longer for you to get back to sports. If you have a very bad strain, it may take months for you to fully recover.

Prevention of muscle strain

It's of import to keep your muscle moving after an injury, but you may need to make some changes to the style you do things. You may be more than prone to hurting that muscle again in the first four to 6 weeks, so take extra care. To prevent some other injury, warm upward properly before you exercise.

To prevent muscle strains in the time to come, take care when you exercise.

• Warm up your muscles beginning – do some gentle exercise to get your body ready for more vigorous activity.
• Cool down properly afterwards – gradually subtract your activity levels until your breathing and eye charge per unit return to normal. And do some gentle stretches while your muscles are even so warm.
• Use the correct exercise or sports equipment.
• Wear properly fitting sports shoes – and the correct shoes for your action. And supervene upon these when they wearable out.
• Don't do when you lot're tired or in pain.
• Have regular days off practise between grooming sessions.
• Balance your activities so you include unlike forms of exercise such equally cardiovascular exercise, force training, and flexibility.
• Build up your activities so yous don't button yourself too hard besides soon.
• If you have any modest injuries, make certain you lot take some time off to permit them heal.

If you don't exercise very ofttimes, your muscles may get weak, which tin can brand them more prone to damage. And so, it's important to proceed them as potent and flexible as possible. You lot tin do exercises to strengthen specific muscles in your torso. A physiotherapist can give you advice.

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Source: https://www.bupa.co.uk/health-information/muscles-bones-joints/muscle-strain