Pulled Ligament
What Is A Pulled Ligament
An injured or pulled ligament can be a painful condition. A ligament is a rope like tissue that connects the bones. They also support and strengthen every joint in the body and hold them securely in place. Tendons actually connect muscle to the bone but ligaments do not. They are fibrous tissue that support joints and vital organs like the bladder, uterus and liver.
A ligament can be compared to elastic because it can stretch with the movement in the joints. A pulled ligament can happen when it is strained or over stretched. This causes the ligament to lengthen. When a person injures or dislocates a joint, it must be put back in place immediately. This is to make sure that the ligament does not continue to stretch or become lengthened.
A pulled ligament will not heal itself, unlike other areas of the body. Usually, when a joint is severely damaged the ligament will have to be reconstructed. There are many places that a pulled ligament can occur and they are all caused by over stretching the fibrous tissue.
One of the most common places a pulled ligament occurs is in the wrist. It is usually because of an injury to the wrist area, placing pressure on the ligament. The severity of the injury has everything to do with how fast it will heal. This all depends on the placement of the hand when the injury occurred. Any time a joint is injured it changes the way it is used and over time this can put wear and tear on the wrist. This can damage the articular cartilage and this cartilage also does not heal very well on its own. After the articular cartilage is damaged, arthritis and pain usually follow.
Ankle sprains are another way people can get a pulled ligament. This usually happens when weight and pressure is put on the foot and the ankle is forced into an abnormal position. There are numerous ligaments in the foot and ankle and any one can become over stretched. An ankle sprain can happen from jumping or running and landing with the foot rolling in or out. When this happens there is usually a loud snap indicating that the ligaments have been stretched. The ankle becomes swollen and painful. It can take a full 2 weeks to heal from a pulled ligament as long as it was not that severe. If walking is difficult for a long period of time, surgery will have to be done to correct the problem.
A back sprain is when the muscles in the back are over worked and the ligaments become stretched. This can happen when an injury occurs because of a fall or from a car accident. The muscles surrounding the spine cannot contract enough to help the spine area. So the result is pulled or torn ligaments. There are minor, moderate and sever back sprains and the healing time all depends on how severe the sprain is.
The pain from a torn or pulled ligament can be reduced by taking an anti inflammatory drug. Using ice packs or a heating pad can also help with pain. Ice packs can be used for the first week to reduce swelling and pain. After the inflammation goes down, heat can be applied to the area. Heat relaxes tense muscles and this can also reduce the chance of back spasms. A doctor may also prescribe medication for pain or to relax the muscles. In most cases, this type of injury can be fully healed by resting the area and giving it a chance to return to normal.