Most Common Symptoms Of A Muscle Strain

Muscle strains are a usual part of life. They result from muscles being put underneath too much stress. You may hear a muscle strain referred to as a pulled muscle or even a muscle tear. All of these terms basically refer to tears in the damaged muscle or the attaching tendons of the area.

Muscle Strains can be slight or severe depending on

the individual situation. Slight injuries will heal on their own with a minimal amount of time. More severe injuries may require the help of a sports injury doctor near LAX. To determine whether or not you have a muscle strain, take a look at these common symptoms below:

• Pain When The Area Is At Rest
• Inability To Use The Muscle
• Pain When Moving The Area
• Bruising, Swelling, Or Redness
• Muscle Or Tendon Weakness

When To Talk To A Doctor?
In most strain cases, you can use some home remedies to bring you relief. If you can't get relief within 24 hours of the initial injury, it may be time to consult a sports medicine physician near LAX. When doing so, you'll go through a very similar process as others.

First, the sports injury doctor near LAX will take a brief medical history and perform a physical examination of the area. During this exam, they'll take a look at whether or not the muscle is completely torn or just partially. They may utilize the help of x-rays or lab tests to confirm or deny their diagnosis of your condition. It's important to note that most doctors can diagnose the severity of your injury without having to order labs or tests.

Other Symptoms Associated With Muscle Strains
While you know that muscle strains are damage to the muscle fibers or tendons of the body, the damage doesn't always stop there. It's common for small blood vessels in the area of the damaged muscle fibers or tendons to cause localized bleeding. This can result in unwanted bruising and pain in the affected area of the body as the nerve endings are irritated by the natural healing process.

Self-Care Tips For Muscle Strains
When you initially notice something is wrong with your muscles, it's time to stop and perform some self-care. When it comes to local bleeding or swelling, you should be applying an ice pack to the location. This will help to reduce the inflammation in the area and alleviate pain.

When icing your injury, follow the 20 minutes on and 40 minutes off rule. If you leave the ice on for more than 20 minutes, the skin will start to think it's under frostbite conditions and send more blood to the injury location. This will result in more issues of swelling and pain. Instead, just do 20 minutes at a time and make sure you wrap up your ice pack or ice cubes in a towel to prevent direct contact with the skin.

There are a number of NSAIDs that your typical sports medicine physician near LAX will recommend you take for your injury. These nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs work to reduce inflammation at the injury site. Some common examples of these drugs include ibuprofen and naproxen. If you're unable to take NSAIDS for some medical reason, ask your doctor about taking acetaminophen to at least help manage the pain.

Getting Physical Therapy Assistance
The best chiropractor near LAX can help assist you in rehabilitating the injured area so that you can regain your strength and range of motion. The concept behind physical therapy is that you need to constantly stretch the muscle out so that it can heal in the right position.

Keeping your muscles with no stretch during the healing process can result in unwanted scar tissue. This can create another injury issue that has to be dealt with before your initial injury is handled. Your sports injury specialist near LAX can help you to determine if you have unwanted scar tissue and explain to you how to fix the issue before it gets any worse.

Recovery Period
Most cases of a muscle strain can be successfully treated at home with the right combination of R.I.C.E and physical rehabilitation exercises. If you're not sure what the best exercises are for your injury, consider consulting the best chiropractor near LAX to figure them out. Slight strains can be healed within two to three weeks.

More severe muscle strains may take the help of a sports injury specialist near LAX and require four to six months to completely heal. If your condition isn't getting any better after the first couple of weeks, then you should consult a medical professional for help. They can instruct you on the best course of action to take to get your body back to normal.