If you have played any sports, lifted heavy weights, or performed strenuous activities, you have most likely experienced muscle strains. Muscle injuries are also common if you have been in a car accident.
What are the causes of muscle injury and strain?
Muscle injury can occur due to damage or pressure to one of the muscles causing pain and discomfort. You can experience muscle injury /strain when the muscle fibers and tendons connected with your muscles tears in response to undue pressure exerted on them. You can have muscle injury due to sudden impact in a car accident.
The straining and tearing of the muscles can cause damage to the blood cells, causing bruising, bleeding, and pain in the affected area.
Muscle tears can occur commonly in one of the three areas:
The space between a muscle and a tendon
Within the muscles
In the tendon, where it attaches to the bone
Although you can have muscle injury anywhere in the body, the common areas where it gets affected are:
Hamstring
Calf
Abdomen
Back
Biceps
The chest area
You can have a muscle strain after a car accident or as a result of an injury for the following reasons:
Lack of flexibility. If your body is not flexible, you are likely to have tighter muscles and tendons that can make you susceptible to muscle strain and injury.
Overuse. If you tend to repeat the same motions while playing a sport or doing heavy manual work, the muscles can get overused, causing muscle strain.
Not warming up before exercise. Stretching helps the muscles be more flexible under pressure. Not getting warmed up before an exercise routine can cause a pulled or strained muscle.
Car accident. Muscle strain is a common soft tissue injury after a car accident. The sudden impact can stretch and tear the ligaments, muscles, and tendons, causing painful muscle injury.
What are the symptoms of muscle injury and strain?
Muscle strain, based on severity, can be grouped into three levels:
Grade 1: This causes a minor muscle strain that can still cause pain and discomfort but does not lose its strength;
Grade 2: It leads to a moderate strain where more ligaments are severed, causing severe muscle tenderness and pain. It also involves mild bruising or swelling and average loss of strength in the area;
Grade 3: This causes serious injury that rips the muscles from the area, resulting in a complete loss of muscle function. It involves a high degree of pain, swelling, discoloration, and tenderness.
The symptoms of muscle strain will depend on the degree of severity of the muscle damage. The main signs of a muscle strain would be a sudden pain that aggravates while moving or contracting the muscles, followed by swelling, bruising, and limited mobility in the affected area.
Some of the symptoms of muscle strain may include:
Muscle pain and tenderness, the severity depending on the degree of pressure in the area. The pain usually increases on moving the affected area while it is relieved under rest.
Muscle cramp or spasm.
Muscle swelling or discoloration or both.
A decrease in muscle strength or, as in the case of a severe muscle injury, total loss of muscle function.
A gap, dent, or other dents in the muscle structure, usually after a severe injury like a car accident.
Pop in the muscle right after the injury.
Inflammation with limited mobility in the affected area.
Where you have suffered muscle injury because of a car accident, you can have some other symptoms like the following:
Whiplash Injury: You can have a whiplash injury in a car accident where the neck is bent forcibly either from side to side or forward and backward, causing muscle strain to your neck and upper back.
Fractured vertebrae: The impact from a car accident can rupture your vertebrae, causing muscle pain and spasm in the affected area.
Seat belt and airbag injuries: You can have muscle pain and injury to your chest, abdomen, neck, and back area arising from the impact of the accident.
How are muscle injuries and strains diagnosed?
To diagnose a muscle injury and determine its severity, your doctor will perform a physical test and can recommend imaging tests like:
X-ray: To look at the placement of your muscles.
MRI: To help your doctor check for blood clots, tears, or internal bleeding.
Ultrasound: To check for muscle tears and build-up of fluids around the strained muscle.
Medications: The doctor can recommend anti-inflammatory medicines like Ibuprofen to reduce pain and swelling in the injured area.
What is the treatment of a muscle injury and strain?
The majority of muscle injuries can be treated following: The RICE Protocol: This is best followed in the case of minor and moderate muscle strains and includes the following steps:
Rest the strained muscles and avoid participating in sports activities.
Ice the strained area to reduce pain and inflammation.
Compress the injured muscle using a compression bandage.
Elevate the injured area to allow blood flow.
Can a chiropractor help you with muscle injury and strain?
As most muscle injuries are rooted in spinal misalignment, a chiropractor, skillful at aligning the spinal system with your body, can help you recover from painful muscle spasms and injury. Here are some ways your chiropractor can help with muscle strain:
Chiropractic care can be an effective and non-invasive treatment for shoulder blade pain. Experienced chiropractors like those at Accidental Care Chiropractic use techniques that utilize your body's inherent strength and flexibility to heal the pain and symptoms in the affected area. Depending on the cause of injury, the treatment may involve the following
Musculoskeletal manipulation: The chiropractor can use manipulation techniques to lightly manipulate the tissues and joints, releasing the tight muscles and reducing pain and inflammation in the affected area;
Active release technique: Here, the chiropractor uses the active release technique to break up adhesions built up because of the scar tissue in the muscle. The method can help you regain your mobility by reducing pain in the affected area;
Hot & cold therapy: Your chiropractor can use cold therapy to reduce pain and inflammation and heat treatment to enhance blood flow, speeding up the recovery process;
Ultrasound: Ultrasound therapy involves the use of sound waves that create deep heat, improving the blood and oxygen flow to the affected area;
Iontophoresis and phonophoresis: These treatments help drive topical medicines deep into the tissues, using electric current and ultrasound, respectively.
Electrical stimulation: Treatments like TENS therapy and H -Wave therapy are used to bring relief from pain and inflammation.
Visit Accident Care Chiropractic for Muscle Injury Strains
If you are experiencing muscle strain from a car accident, a sports-related injury, or any other reason, you need to visit a well-experienced chiropractor, like the specialists at Accident Care Chiropractic.
Our service area extends to Portland, OR; Vancouver; Salem; Hillsboro; and beyond. So if you are experiencing muscle injury or strain, reach out to us today to schedule a consultation!
