Treating Muscle Strains

Your first step in treating a muscle strain is to determine how serious it is. Grades 1 and 2 can usually be self-treated; grade 3 strains should have immediate medical attention. If you hear a pop, cannot use the muscle or joint, experience significant pain or swelling, run a fever, or have visible tears (they’ll look like open cuts) caused by the injury, find your way to the emergency room. Your doctor will ask for a history of the injury and may run diagnostic tests such as x-rays or ultrasound.

After you’ve determined how serious the injury is, your next step is to stop—stop doing whatever activity caused the injury. The game may still be on, but unless you want to injure yourself even more seriously, the only part you should be playing is bench warmer. Let’s return to the paper analogy. Imagine pulling gently on a sheet of paper that already has a tear in it. Most likely that tear will get bigger. The very same thing will happen with your injury. Continuing to aggravate the tear, even if its only limited play, will only increase the damage that your body will need to repair later—and that means more pain and a longer rehabilitation period.

O.K., so you’ve stopped what you’re doing. Now it’s on to the famous RICE treatment: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.

Your body will need time to heal. While you won’t have to turn into a couch potato, you do need to allow your muscle time to rebuild itself. Take some time off from activities that will stress the injured muscles and then, once you’re feeling better, ease back into activity.

Applying ice is pretty much a universal treatment for injuries—and for good cause. Cold causes blood vessels to constrict, which lowers inflammation and swelling. At the same time, the cold will also cause an increased blood flow to the injury, bringing with it the building supplies your body needs to repair the damage as well as removing any wastes or toxins in the injury. Place an icepack on the injury and leave it there for 15 to 20 minutes, reapplying every 2 hours. Do not apply the ice directly to the skin; use a towel or cloth to provide a barrier between the cold and you. Over the next 24 hours, reduce the frequency of application. You can also use anti-inflammatories to further prevent inflammation.

While applying heat to the injury may be beneficial later, do not use heat within the first 24 hours. Heat actually causes more swelling and pain with the initial injury. Wait a few days before applying heat.

Compression helps relieve and prevent swelling. Swelling is your body’s natural reaction to injury—it’s a protective measure to help prevent further damage. But once the threat is over, swelling just impedes the healing process. Compression will help overcome swelling.

Elevating an injury helps fluids to flow out of the injury, thus further preventing swelling. At the same time, elevation promotes the rest your injured part needs—it’s hard to be active with your hamstring elevated above your head.