How to Recover From a Pulled Muscle
4th Mar 19
Pulled muscles are a real pain in life, and even more so when it comes to your fitness. If you’re in the middle of a workout or have an active lifestyle, there’s no telling the amount of damage a pulled muscle can do to you in both the long and the short term. However, when you understand them better, it’s easier to avoid them and learn how to deal with them most efficiently, so here are some things to think about.
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Torn Muscle Fibres
The cause of a pulled muscle is essential to understand before looking at how to deal with it; otherwise, it may be hard to get around what’s happening. A pulled muscle is caused by damaging muscle fibre or the tendons that the muscle is attached to. It can have a huge range of severity, but typically it’s nothing major. Instead, it happens because you’ve overexerted yourself in your training in some way, either by overtraining, not preparing or even just an accident.
When it does happen, you need to know what to do to prevent yourself from dealing any more damage or making it worse and to speed up the recovery, so you’re back on your game in no time. Here’s the general response, RICE, recommended by the NHS:
Rest
You first of all need to stop using the muscle. You’ll only tear it more in the long run if you don’t take the strain off it from whatever it is that you were doing or even anything following the injury. Just take a few days out and see how you improve.
Ice
Ice is crucial to recovering from injury. The cold response means that the blood flow doesn’t become too much, which is what causes swelling and inflammation. The ice will keep you in as little pain as possible and allow the injury to repair itself over time.
Compress
Compression is key too to a pulled muscle. It shares a lot of the same benefits as we mentioned for ice above, but with added benefits like being more practical and convenient for outside of your own home. However, it will likely also force you to rest as it does not have the manoeuvrability to do what you’d like it to with the bandage on.
Elevate
Finally, elevation. Elevation, again, reduces that blood flow to the affected area so that you aren’t putting yourself in more pain, and it forces you to rest. You can’t go and play whatever sport you are doing or lift that weight if your legs are strung up above you!
Precautions
So now that you’re set to deal with it, or it’s gotten worse, you’ve done the smart thing and gone to see a health professional, you need to know what to do to avoid them in the first place.
Warm Up Properly
Warming up is essential to exercise in and out of looking into a pulled muscle. Far worse things can happen if you don’t prepare your body for what you are about to demand from it. A pulled muscle is destined to happen if you don’t look after yourself and ensure that those muscles are in the best possible shape they can be.
Don’t Overuse
Overuse of your muscles can also easily lead to a pulled muscle. You have to be taking time between your workouts to allow your body to recover and rebuild if you want to see your progress develop anyway. If you’re applying the same strain day in and day out with no added support, you will weaken the muscle gradually until it’s inevitable. Train smart.
That’s about it for what you need to know about a pulled muscle. They may be one of the more common injuries, but they are usually preventable. So act as fast as you can, stop whatever you were doing to prevent further damage, and see your GP if it worsens.
Before beginning any exercise or nutrition program, consult your physician, doctor or other professional. This is especially important for individuals over the age of 35 or persons with pre-existing health problems. Exercise.co.uk assumes no responsibility for personal injury or property damage sustained using our advice.
If you experience dizziness, nausea, chest pain, or any other abnormal symptoms, stop the workout at once and consult a physician or doctor immediately.
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