Muscle Strains | Plenty Physiotherapy, Bundoora

Muscle Strains Document

A muscle strain is a stretching or  tear of muscle fibres resulting  from excessive stretch or forceful  contraction. It often occurs  during high-speed or high-load  activities, especially when the  tension (eccentric contraction).  Commonly strained muscles: • Hamstrings • Quadriceps (especially Rectus femoris) • Calf (especially gastrocnemius) • Adductors • Hip flexors • Biceps (upper limb) Muscle strains can be graded by principle: ) Grade 1 (Mild): A grade 1 strain is where you have a mild muscle strain, you’ve  stretched and pulled your muscle enough to cause minor damage, but it isn’t  torn through. Symptoms may be some soreness and minimal swelling. Function  should be minimal if not impacted aall.  2) Grade 2 (Moderate): A grade 2 strain is a moderate muscle strain and is slightly more severe where the muscle has torn through some or even most of the  muscle fibres. This will aLect some reduction in muscle strength and reduced  range of motion. Movements may be more painful and restrict full movements  through range.  3) Grade 3 (Severe): A grade 3 strain is a severe muscle strain, and your muscle has  torn all the way through. These will be associated with significant pain, loss of  function and swelling/bruising. A complete muscle tear (muscle rupture) may need surgery/medical attention to repair it.  Sidenote: It is important to note that if there is any tendon involvement in addition to the  injury to the muscle fibres then often in these cases the injury recovery timeline can be  longer as the healing capacity of tendons are slower (lower blood supply) and do not  heal at the same capacity as pure muscle fibre injuries.Contributing factors: A) History of prior strain: Having a history of strains especially within 12 months  may potentially mean there may be weakened tissue at higher risk of re-injury. B) Poor flexibility: Limited muscle flexibility can increase the risk of strains  because they restrict full range of motion, making the muscle more susceptible  to injury during ballistic or rapid movements or when they are forcibly stretched  past their capacity. Tight muscles also do not absorb force and impact well and  therefore are more prone to being injured when stressed.  C) Inadequate warm-ups: Poor warm-ups can significantly increase the risk of  muscle strains due to several factors; stiffness, cold muscles are less flexible  and more prone to injury, and reduced blood flow limits oxygen/nutrient delivery  to muscles. Integrating a proper warm-up routine will ensure increased blood  flow, raising muscle temperature and improving flexibility. Dynamic stretching  prior to exercise has shown to augment performance via better flexibility and  elevating the neuromuscular systems to enhance performance and reduce  injury.  D) Muscle imbalances/poor biomechanics: Muscular imbalances where muscles  around the area of injury as well as the muscle that is injured itself can lead to  overload and strain. This can be due to poor biomechanical movement patterns  that further feed into this overload cycle.  E) Poor load management/Fatigue: Having sudden increases in volume and  intensity, alongside inadequate rest intervals can lead to an overload of the  structures. Fatigue due to poor recovery and load managing can make these  muscles more susceptible to injury. Treatment/Management: 

1)ad management: Initially minimise or remove aggravating factors and  activities. Load management is crucial, therefore laying out your current  exercise/sports schedule and modifying things such as frequency, duration and  intensity will aid this. It may be that in addition to strength work, low-impact  cardiovascular (CV) activities such as cycling and swimming may be advised so  that secondary regressions of CV fitness is not a resultant.  2) Rehab/Biomechanical alterations: Exercise-based rehab consists of  strengthening not only the direct structures involved, but the surrounding tissue  so that overloading of the injured tissue does not re-occur (share the load in the  kinetic chain). Training groups that have underlying deficits and neuromuscular  control above and below this region are also focused on to help support and  improve your biomechanics. A graded return to full capacity will then be  integrated. Manual therapy such as soft tissue work and dry needling can also  help with healing and pain management.  3) Ice/Medication: Ice/compression/taping as well as using forms of pain  relief/Anti-inflammatories can help manage acute pain, particularly after the  first 48-72 hours (as directed by your medical professionals). 

4) Imaging/medical referral: In more severe cases certain imaging referrals, such  as X-rays, ultrasounds, or MRI, may help rule out higher grade injuries or multi  structure tissue involvements. A sport Doctor/surgeon may be involved pending  this.