We all happen to sustain injury to our muscles by accident, by overusing them, or by using them in the wrong way. But when it causes tear and strain in the pulled muscle, it can develop into a painful muscle injury. If you are an athlete or have a very active lifestyle, you are bound to experience muscle strain more than once in your life. It is also common among other people.

In most cases, you can simply recover from a muscle strain by resting the pulled muscle and treating yourself with home remedies. But, if you happen to be unable to move the injured part, you need medical intervention to treat your muscle strain. Fortunately, you can get better with medications and only a few weeks of therapy.

You can strain almost any muscle in your body, but most commonly, you can injure your hamstrings, chest, biceps, and back. Such strains occur when you stretch and pull a muscle beyond its capacity. Repetitive movements, overuse, and inflexibility of your muscles lead to strain and tear.

Here are the main causes due to which you can sustain a muscle tear:

  • Poor flexibility
  • Over-exertion
  • Fatigue
  • Poor conditioning of the muscles
  • Not warming up before any physical activity

Sometimes, poor posture and holding the neck or back awkwardly for a long time can also lead to muscle strain. Chronic muscle strain may also occur if you keep repeating the same motion again and again. When you do sustain a muscle strain, you can notice bruising and swelling in the affected area accompanied by excruciating pain when moving the muscle and sometimes even at rest.

The severity and intensity of pain from a muscle strain can vary from person to person. Generally, you can experience symptoms similar, but not limited to:

 

  • Sudden pain or tenderness
  • Swelling, bruising, or redness
  • Soreness
  • Pain while using the injured muscle
  • A ‘knotted-up’ feeling
  • Inability to use the muscle
  • Limited range of motion
  • Muscle weakness
  • Muscle spasms or cramps

Accurately diagnosing a muscle strain requires professional evaluation, as a tailored course of treatment is necessary to alleviate pain and other symptoms. At QI Spine Clinic, we employ our innovative non-invasive diagnostic technique – Digital Spine Analysis (DSA) test – to unearth the root cause of your muscle strain and pinpoint the exact location of the strained muscle using guided and controlled movements.

Based on the assessment, our QI spine doctors will prescribe a plan for your muscle strain treatment. You can find pain and symptom relief with four weeks of QI spine therapy guided by our physiotherapy experts. Our well-experienced, qualified spine doctors recommend our advanced, assisted physiotherapy along with medical movements covered under an individualised treatment plan to address your individual needs and improve muscle function. Active compression therapy may also be performed to allow more oxygen to reach damaged tissues and reduce swelling & discomfort, which results in a shorter recovery time from muscle strain.

At QI Spine Clinic, our spine specialists suggest performing certain guided stretching and flexibility exercises to ensure proper healing of the strained muscle as well as prevent injuring the same muscle again. Thus, we take a comprehensive approach towards holistic healing and recovery, not only for problems affecting your musculoskeletal system but also your spine and back. With our patient-first approach and advanced diagnostic techniques, we ensure correct and precise diagnosis of your problems. Since different conditions can manifest differently in people, we focus on providing tailored treatments that address your concerns as well as prevent further problems from recurring.