A muscle strain or tear is typically associated with actively using the muscle beyond its normal capacity, or suddenly overstretching beyond its normal movement. This could be during sporting activity or something as simple as walking the dog. A muscle injury is normally associated with a high energy event, such as sprinting or kicking a ball.
As with any injury you will immediately feel pain and potentially a loss of function, and this would be localised to the muscle affected. if you strain a muscle and is it a significant tear, there may be some swelling or bruising associated with this. The muscle will be painful to use and may be tender to touch, particularly where the bruising is worse.
Your therapist will use a number of tests to determine which muscle is involved. They can test the strength and length of the muscle or even refer you in-clinic for a diagnostic ultrasound scan to determine exactly the extent of the injury, with the ability to measure the size of the tear even down to a fraction of a millimetre.
Treatment will focus on facilitating normal muscle tissue healing, reducing any stiffness and increasing your mobility and building up strength of the injured muscle as it allows. This is done by a graded strengthening programme, along with soft tissue massage, acupuncture and dry needling, electrotherapy, and taping and strapping in-clinic.
