Muscle injuries are common among athletes when pushing themselves to the limit and can take a long time to heal. But its not just athletes that experience muscle injuries, anyone lifting weights, chasing there runaway toddler, or simple every day tasks could be prone to a muscle tear if the wrong lifting technique or a slight stumble occurs.

Here are some of the basics of muscular injuries:

Causes: Poor flexibility, inadequate strength or endurance, over worked muscle, insufficient warm up, poor lifting or running technique, old injury. Symptoms of a pulled muscle: A sudden sharp pain usually during high velocity movement; muscle spasm; swelling and bruising; if the tear is severe a gap or a pop in the muscle may be felt. Strains are graded 1-3 depending on how severe the injury is:

Grade 1 (minor tear): Although you may be able to move and lift weight with the injured muscle, you may feel tightness and some discomfort, the pain can often be localized with one finger, and even a small amount of swelling may be present. Usually 2-14 days to recover.

Grade 2 (moderate tear): The torn muscle will become swollen. Pressure to the injury will be painful, and become very stiff. Flexing the area against resistance will be painful. Sudden spasms and bruising may occur. A large area around the tear will be sensitive, which makes locating the exact spot of injury difficult. 2-8 weeks to recover.

Grade 3 (complete tear): The most severe tear is very painful, especially during activity. You can recognize the injury by sudden swelling and bruising. In severe cases a balling up of the muscle and loss of movement may occur. Surgery may be needed in rare cases to attach the fibers back together. 2-6 months to recover.

Treatment: Immediately following the injury, use the R.I.C.E technique (rest, ice, compress, elevate) as recommended by the American Council of Sports Medicine. It is always a good idea to see a sports injury specialist immediately following the injury.

Rehabilitation: The first 1-5 days following the injury stick to the R.I.C.E technique. The Next 3 weeks it is important to start strengthening the area. The damaged tissue is replaced with scar tissue which is not as flexible or as strong as the surrounding muscle. Strengthening and stretching exercises while the muscle heals will help prevent scar tissue from building up and help realign the fibers. To prevent the area from re-injury. Start off light and gradually increase intensity as you may be able to work back into your regular program by adding more weight onto the exercises 3-6 weeks after. Just be careful. In the beginning a physical therapist can help define movements needed to strengthen the injured muscle. A personal trainer will design a recovery program and guide you on the way to recovery. Luckily the wide variety of equipment at the Weight Club allows you to work around your injury. A muscle tear can fully recover with proper care and exercise, as long as you pay more attention to warm up, and increase flexibility to avoid hurting the area again. By the way, Its been almost 8 weeks now and my strength is just about back to normal.

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