Muscle strain in adults

What is muscle strain

Muscle strain is a traumatic stretching of muscle fibers. It appears when the patient “goes too far” with physical activity, as well as with falls and other domestic injuries.

There are three degrees of muscle stretch:

1. With it, a small number of fibers endure rupture, and a person develops pain, which often goes away without intervention. The main thing is to keep calm.
2. Here the joint swells, the pain intensifies. Already a reason to see a doctor.
3. This is most often a complete rupture of the ligament, the pain cannot be tolerated, there are disorders in the joints. You need to see a doctor immediately!

Symptoms of muscle strain in adults

Symptoms of muscle strain are quite pronounced:

• the joint swells;
• the pain gets worse every hour;
• sometimes there is a bruise or hematoma;
• the function of the limb/joint is partially lost.

Causes of muscle strain in adults

At risk are those whose work is associated with lifting weights, as well as those who have been in an uncomfortable position for a long time. As the specialist explains, most often people suffer from sprained calves – the muscles of the lower leg and knee joints. The upper limbs also fall under the distribution – the ligaments of the hands suffer, especially in the place where the wrists are. This mainly happens in those moments when a person falls on an outstretched hand. Both the elbow and the back can suffer from sprains.

The cause of muscle stretching can be increased temperature and, conversely, cooling – when a person is cold, his muscles become wooden, and because of this, the likelihood of their stretching increases.

The next reason is falls on the ice in winter, at such moments the emergency rooms are usually overcrowded.

Muscle strains are a common problem for people who start exercising in the gym and immediately quite hard. Many skip and do not do warm-up exercises and get injuries to their arms, legs, back and neck because of this.

Treatment of muscle strain in adults

If you have a grade XNUMX sprain, it often does not require treatment. You will need to keep calm, and after a couple of days the pain will subside on its own.

With a moderate degree of muscle strain, exercises from physiotherapy exercises, medicines, and massages will save you. Treatment can be prescribed by a physiotherapist, but strictly individually.

With muscle strains, you can use bandages and splints, they remove part of the load and fix the injured muscle.

Unfortunately, there are also severe cases where surgery may be necessary. This happens when it breaks.

Diagnostics

As mentioned above, first-degree sprains can only be treated with rest. But in other cases, when the pain does not subside, the site of injury swells and worries, you should consult a traumatologist. If the pain is unbearable, aggravated and occurred at night, do not endure it, go to a XNUMX-hour emergency room.

The doctor will examine the muscle, take the necessary pictures and prescribe treatment for you, based on the degree of damage to the muscle.

Modern treatments

• Peace. A person with an injury needs bed rest. That is, for 48 – 72 hours, all physical activity should be absent. This method helps with the first degree.
• Applying ice. For 2 days, every two hours for 15 minutes, apply ice or frozen meat, wrapping it in a towel. Don’t get burned!
• Fixation. It is important to fix the damaged muscle, you can do this with a special fixative or elastic bandage.
• Anti-inflammatory drugs. Use them after consulting your doctor.
• Ointments. They can be used after a few days to eliminate unpleasant symptoms.

With proper treatment, the problem will go away in 5-10 days.

In difficult situations and ruptures, surgery is required.

Prevention of muscle strain in adults at home

Many of those who play sports, and especially beginners, skip warm-up exercises. And it just is the prevention of stretching. Remember – before you start playing sports, whether it’s running, exercising with “iron” in the gym or even yoga, do a warm-up to warm up your joints. It is she who will save you from serious injury.

When lifting weights, at work or at home, you need to transfer the main weight of the load to your back and legs, you need to lift it due to the movement of the entire body, and not just your arms or legs.

Popular questions and answers

Answered popular questions about muscle stretching orthopedic doctor Roman Zharin.