Pulled Muscle Symptoms
Important Information about Pulled Muscle Symptoms
Especially for those who are physically active or have recently discovered sports, pulled muscle symptoms can become a regular companion. Muscles and ligaments are important to maintain the stability and movement in our joints. When you are exercising without stretching first, go over your limits, trip, and fall or violently move your body, you may experience a pulled muscle. Symptoms can be very unpleasant, but the good news is that the injury is able to heal with the proper care.
Especially those who engage in physical activity that involves jumping, running and using your hands (such as basketball, volleyball, tennis, soccer etc), muscles can easily be pulled with just one wrong movement. People who have a passion for winter sports are also often suffering from muscle pain, especially when they fall, slip or try to hold on to something that may injure their fingers. In fact, you can pull virtually any muscle - from tiny ones in your finger to large ones in your back and legs. So if you have a little accident, you may experience the following pulled muscle symptoms.
The first thing is certain pain which is located exactly where the muscle has been pulled. Often you will experience a swelling and sometimes you will even hear a noise which indicates a ligament rupture on top of that. The injured part of your body can also turn blue and sometimes you may feel paralyzed or the pain is so strong that you cannot properly use the joint or muscle. Depending on the intensity, pulled muscle symptoms can vary, and unfortunately a pulled muscle is often accompanied by an injury in the ligaments or even bones.
Once something like that happens, it is time to provide first aid. The most obvious and important thing to do is cooling for at least 15-20minutes. You can use ice packs or towels soaked with cold water. Cooling the swelling is necessary because the blood vessels tighten up and the internal bleeding is reduced. The ice should not be directly placed onto the skin as this will cause more pain.
If possible, the injured part should be elevated which also reduced the blood flow. However, the pain is sometimes simply too intense to do that. The injured person should not have to elevate the affected body part if it causes extreme pain.
Even if the pain is fading or even gone, do not involve in any physical activity. It is not easy to 'feel' the difference between a pulled muscle, a ligament rupture or a broken bone. Before you do anything, let a doctor diagnose it.
You must tell the doctor exactly how it happened and describe the symptoms. They will then touch and test you to determine how bad the situation really is. If this examination is possible, you have probably only pulled your muscle. If it is not possible due to extreme pain, it is probably something more serious and has to be x-rayed.
Pulled muscle symptoms are usually gone within 2 weeks. You can usually use the muscle during the healing process, but physical activity or sports should be avoided under all circumstances. Sports may cause the injury to become worse! This issue is usually fixed with bandage, pain killers and physiotherapy. If the injury is more severe and especially when bones are involved, you may have to undergo surgery.
The main thing is to rest, commence movements gradually and slowly, and to learn from the experience- don't do sports without a proper warm-up and stretching. Accidents can certainly happen, but proper preparation is the best preventive manner.