sportsinjury ·Jan 17, 2023

Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments For a Pulled Muscle

Pulled muscles are a common condition that can occur anywhere in your body. A pulled muscle occurs when you overstretch or tear the muscles in your body. Pulled muscles most often happen during exercise or sports, but they can also occur as a result of everyday activities like carrying heavy items such as a suitcase or some boxes.

👉A pulled muscle happens when a muscle is stretched too far and becomes overstretched, torn or injured.

👉Overuse and injury are the most common causes of a pulled muscle. Overuse happens when you use your muscles too much, too fast, or with heavy weight. This can lead to overstretching of the muscle, which can cause it to tear. Injury can also happen if you twist the wrong way while lifting something heavy, for example.

👉The most common types of injuries that lead to pulled muscles are sprains or strains.

Sprains happen when ligaments (the connective tissue between two bones) get stretched beyond their normal range of motion and then snap back into place causing pain
Strains occur when muscle fibers become damaged by stretching them beyond what they’re able to handle without tearing completely away from their origin point or insertion point on bone. This usually results in severe pain at first followed by localized swelling and inflammation later on.

Pulled muscles usually occur when you overstretch or tear your muscle fibers.

A pulled muscle is a stretching or tearing of the muscle fibers, which can be caused by overuse, trauma or muscle spasms. Overuse can result from repetitive movements like typing or lifting. Trauma can be caused by sudden impacts to the muscle, such as tripping and falling on an outstretched arm.

Many muscles crisscross your body right beneath the skin, but others are deep beneath your surface muscles, like the ones in your chest and abdomen.

Like the muscles in our limbs, those in our trunk and abdomen can also be affected by being pulled. The most common area for this type of injury is the back, but it might also happen in your chest or abdomen.

As you can see from these examples, several types of muscle could be pulled:

Deep muscles that are below the surface of your skin (such as those in your chest and abdomen)
Surface muscles that crisscross your body right beneath the skin (like those that make up your arms and legs)

🩺In some cases, a pulled muscle can be related to an underlying disease or condition. Fibromyalgia and multiple sclerosis are two such conditions that can cause muscle pain. If you have any queries about unusual symptoms you may be having, please consult your doctor.

You can pull or strain your muscles during physical activity or even while you're resting.

You can pull or strain your muscles during physical activity or even while you're resting. A muscle strain happens when you suddenly use a muscle, and it causes pain, swelling, and possibly a snapping sound. A pulled muscle is similar to a strain, but occurs when the fibers in your muscle are stretched too far.

☑️When you exercise, the body needs to be able to move safely through its range of motion (ROM).

☑️Range of motion is the distance you can move your body, or part of it, without pain. It's important because it helps you stay flexible and healthy.

☑️The ability to move different joints is important because it affects how you can move and what activities you can do. For example, if you have limited range of motion in your knees, you might have trouble squatting or bending down to pick something up off the floor.

☑️If you don't have enough range of motion in a specific part of your body, you may experience pain and stiffness when you try to move that part. If you have too much range of motion in a particular area, you may be at risk for injury.

☑️ROM allows the joints in the body to remain healthy. When you don't have enough range of motion, your joints can become stiff and painful over time.

☑️ROM helps keep your muscles strong and healthy. If you don't move your body enough, your muscles will get weak and start to atrophy (shrink).

☑️Having healthy Range of Motion helps you stay active! If your muscles are strong, they can take on more strenuous activities without becoming injured or overworked.

If you want to perform certain activities without pain or discomfort, knowing where your joints can move is key. If you don't know how far they can move, then it's more likely that you'll cause damage when performing those activities
Knowing how much range of motion you have can help you prevent injury when exercising or playing sports because it will allow you to improve any areas of weakness before they become an issue later down the road

It's important to have a good range of motion because it allows you to do things like walk, run, jump, throw things, or even just reach over your head without straining. It also helps prevent injury by making sure that your joints are being used correctly.

It helps you determine whether or not your joints are healthy, and if they're not, whether or not they're moving properly.

When movements are limited because of poor posture or lack of strength/flexibility then injuries such as strains/pulled muscles occur more often than not.

A strained muscle can occur on any part of your body

A pulled muscle is a common injury that can occur on any part of your body. This includes the muscles of your arms, legs and back. But any muscle can be injured by being pulled.

Pulled muscles are common in athletes and people who work out regularly. However, anyone can get a pulled muscle from regular daily activities like carrying heavy items or moving furniture at home or work.

A few simple tips can help prevent you from getting a pulled muscle:

If it hurts to move an arm or leg, don't use it until you feel better!
Avoid doing too much exercising until after the pain has gone away because this might cause more damage than good!

People often confuse a pulled muscle with a sprain, which is an injury to a ligament. It's also common for these injuries to be called strains. In reality, a strain occurs in connective tissue (such as ligaments ), whereas a pulled muscle refers to an injury in actual muscle tissue.

👉A sprain occurs in ligaments (the tough bands of connective tissue that connect bones to each other). These ligaments stabilize joints, allowing you to move your limbs. When you sprain your ankle, for example, it's likely that the ligament connecting your foot to your shin is torn or injured.

👉A strain refers to damage within actual muscle tissue. When a muscle contracts (like when you're lifting weights), it can become injured if it's overworked or overexerted; this injury is known as a strain.

So what's the difference between a pulled muscle and a sprained ligament? In simple terms: if the difference is whether the injury occurs in muscle tissue or the connective tissue (ligaments). Whereas sprains occur most often during athletic activities such as running and playing football, people often get pulled muscles from overexertion during everyday tasks like carrying groceries or taking out the trash (we’ve even had a customer pull a muscle while working at an office desk!)

Whether it's due to exercise or everyday activities, anyone who works their body has probably felt the pain of a pulled muscle at one time or another.

A pulled muscle can be caused by many different activities, but it's most common among athletes and people who do manual labor.

👉For example, runners are at a greater risk of pulling muscles because they're constantly working their legs to run long distances.

👉Swimmers and cyclists need to put in extra effort when it comes to training their bodies in order to become more fit, which puts them at an increased risk of injury as well.

👉 Factory workers who spend hours standing every day may find that they're getting tired more easily due to lack of exercise. These types of jobs don't require much movement from your arms or legs if you're standing or sitting all day. This can lead you into bad habits like slouching or leaning on things for support rather than keeping yourself upright with good posture...which can also lead to injury.

Symptoms of a pulled muscle may vary from mild discomfort to severe pain depending on the location and severity of the injury.

The symptoms of a pulled muscle may vary from mild discomfort to severe pain depending on the location and severity of the injury.

Common symptoms include:

Pain, swelling, redness and tenderness in the area where you've pulled the muscle.
Loss of strength in the affected area.
Tender to touch (may be painful).

Most common forms of pulled muscle

Pulled muscles are common, and they can be painful. The good news is that with the right treatment and rest you should heal completely in a few weeks.

The main types of muscular strain are:

Muscle strain - this refers to damage to a muscle caused by overstretching, excessive force or sudden movement. It can be minor and self-limiting or severe and cause significant damage that requires hospital treatment. Muscle strain is common in sports because athletes are constantly pushing their bodies past their limits: they're trying to run faster than they've ever run before and jump higher than they've ever jumped before, all while training and practicing regularly!

Muscle tear (or rupture) - most commonly seen in sports such as football, where the muscle is stretched beyond its normal capacity and tears in the tissue. It can occur during any activity that involves forceful contractions but is more common with heavy lifting or quick movements involving high-impact forces (e.g., falling from height). A tear may be partial or complete depending on how much of the muscle fibers are damaged, but it usually heals well if treated correctly.

Muscle sprain - a stretch injury to ligaments around your joints; see sprains above for more information about this type of injury.

How long does a pulled muscle last?

How long a pulled muscle lasts depends on the severity of the strain. In some cases, soreness may linger for weeks or even months. In other cases, it can take just a few days to recover. If you have a pulled muscle and are experiencing any of these symptoms or concerns, consult a doctor as soon as possible:

Pain that lasts longer than 48 hours
Swelling or bruising around the area of injury
Numbness or tingling in fingers/toes

If your doctor determines that you’ve pulled something (or if they think there's an underlying cause for your pain), he or she will likely recommend rest and physical therapy for recovery.

Treatment for muscle strains

A pulled muscle is usually treated with rest and ice. This is because the healing process requires the muscles to not be used, so they can recover. The most important thing is to avoid using the injured area until it has healed. If you do use it, it will slow down your recovery.

If you think you might have pulled a muscle, you should stop exercising or doing activities that cause pain right away and stay off them until your doctor says otherwise.

If you have an acute (sudden) injury, apply ice as soon as possible. Use a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a towel or place crushed ice cubes on top of gauze for 20 minutes every hour for up to three days after the injury occurred if:

You did not seek immediate medical attention after hurting yourself; and/or
You are not sure when your injury occurred (for example, if there was no specific incident that caused it); and/or
The pain didn't start getting better within 24 hours after being injured

A pulled muscle can be painful, but with the right treatment you should heal completely in a few weeks.

How long a pulled muscle lasts depends on the severity of the injury. If you are experiencing severe pain or have an inability to move your arm or leg normally after injuring yourself, then it's possible that you've sustained an injury to your muscles or tendons that requires medical attention. In these cases, it may take several months for a pulled muscle to heal completely and return to full mobility.

If left untreated however, even minor pulls can become chronic problems leading to disability and pain over time.

✅Although muscle strains can be painful and annoying, they’re usually not serious and don’t require hospitalization. If you know how to treat your muscles after a strain, you’ll be back to your regular routine in no time!

✅Hopefully this blog post has provided some information about what a pulled muscle is and how to prevent one. If you find yourself with an injured muscle, the best thing you can do is rest it and apply cold for relief from swelling. If your pain continues or worsens, consult your doctor immediately.

References

We pride ourselves on being thoroughly researched before we post blog posts, articles or webpages. Here is a list of references used to create this content:

👉Ref 1: What exactly is a strained muscle?, CAMPT, Canadian Academy of Manipulative Physiotherapy

👉Ref 2: Muscle Strain, Bupa, UK

👉Ref 3: Muscle Strains, Cleveland Clinic

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