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How to Care For Sports Injuries - Pulled Muscle

By Toni Grundstrom
A pulled muscle is a common sport injury.
A pulled muscle is a common sport injury.
How to Care For Sports Injuries - Pulled Muscle
User-Submitted Article

A pulled muscle is one of the most common injuries that athletes suffer. It is caused when a muscle group is over-stretched and it results in soreness and sometimes a loss of mobility. Minor swelling can occur and sometimes even a bruise. The bruise is created because the pull can result in small tears in the muscle fiber. If those tears bleed a little bit, then you may see some bruising over the sore area.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions & Things You'll Need:

  • Ice
  • Time To Heal
  • Elastic bandage

  1. Care For A Pulled Muscle  -  Ice works very well with a pulled muscle. The ice will reduce any swelling in the area and help alleviate the pain. Ibuprofen may also be taken to further reduce swelling and pain. (Q-check with mom/dad/dr before taking any medication)

  2. Pulled Muscle - Time Heals  -  Time is the only treatment for a pulled muscle. When you have an opportunity to work with trainers or a sports medicine clinic they could provide you a treatments that will speed up the healing process, but you will still need time to heal. The best thing you can do is to let the muscle tissue heal itself, do not use it until it is healed, and make sure that you don't over exert it.

  3. Healed Pulled Muscle - Stretching Before Activity  -  Once the muscle is healed and you are able to resume activity the first thing you need to do before you start the activity is to stretch and warm up the muscle. When you over-exert a cold muscles you could damage it again. Warming up slowly allows the proper blood flow to the muscles so they will perform at their peak.

  4. Injured Muscle  -  Another way to keep the injured muscle warm and loose is to wrap it with an elastic bandage. This may help prevent further damage. You can find these wraps at a convenience or sporting goods store or local pharmacy.

  5. Medical Treatment For A Pulled Muscle

    If, after a period of time, you see no improvement then you may want to seek treatment at a sports medicine facility. If you have underestimated the extent of your injury, then you may have something more substantial than a pulled muscle and you may have actually torn it. The result is that the muscle tears free from the bone and can curl back up on it self. This is extremely painful and it is unlikely that it could happen without you knowing it, but prolonged pain is probably something that you should get checked out. A severely torn muscle can require surgery to repair and the longer you wait the worse it will get.

 

~  Coach Q  ~