Sore muscle tissue are widespread after a tricky exercise, however once you’re actually feeling the burn, it’s possible you’ll marvel in the event you’re coping with the same old muscle soreness — or in the event you even have a pulled muscle or muscle pressure.
Here’s inform the distinction and get better.
What Is a Muscle Strain, or Pulled Muscle?
“Pulled muscles occur when a tensile force tears the muscle fibers, causing trauma,” explains Cody Braun, NASM efficiency enhancement specialist.
A muscle pressure, or pulled muscle, constitutes harm past customary post-workout soreness, and mostly impacts the muscle tissue in and across the calves and quadriceps.
“Muscle strains can be caused by a number of things, but overuse, overstretching, and fatigue are some of the main causes,” Braun provides.
The severity of a pulled muscle, or muscle pressure, is graded on a scale from 1 to three:
- Grade 1 pressure: The mildest type of pressure, involving a nominal variety of fibers and costing little to no loss in power.
- Recovery time: With correct care (see beneath), a muscle pull of this severity can heal inside just a few weeks.
- Grade 2 pressure: A pressure of average severity involving harm to extra muscle fibers and a considerable lack of power.
- Recovery time: Rehab can final from three to 6 weeks with applicable therapy.
- Grade 3 pressure: Complete tear of the muscle involving complete lack of operate that may require surgical procedure to restore.
- Recovery time: A pressure of this severity can take three to 6 months or extra to rehabilitate.
Do You Have a Pulled Muscle or Is It Just Sore?
Registering far decrease on the tissue-damage scale, delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) happens when there are microscopic tears throughout the muscle fibers.
“When a muscle is loaded during exercise, the fibers sustain microtears,” says Robert Herbst, a private coach, wellness coach, and World Champion powerlifter. “Over the next 48 to 72 hours, the body repairs the muscle and — through a process known as supercompensation — builds additional muscle in anticipation of greater loads in the future.”
As your physique makes an attempt to heal these microtears within the muscle fibers, it may possibly trigger delicate swelling, which may result in stiffness and soreness.
This form of muscle soreness is widespread, and it’s normally proof that you simply used new muscle tissue teams, used them in a brand new method, or elevated your depth.
But it isn’t a exercise badge of honor it is advisable to intention for. When it involves gauging the effectiveness of your exercises, seeing progress is extra essential than feeling soreness.
What Does a Pulled Muscle Feel Like?
“Differentiating between muscle soreness and a pulled muscle can be difficult if you don’t know what to look for,” explains Alex Tauberg, a board-certified sports activities chiropractor at Tauberg Chiropractic & Rehabilitation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
With each delayed-onset muscle soreness and a pulled muscle, the muscle could also be heat to the contact, infected, swollen, and tender.
So how are you aware if in case you have a pulled muscle? There are two key distinctions between DOMS and a pulled muscle:
- When you’re feeling the discomfort
- The depth of the discomfort
“With delayed-onset muscle soreness, there should not be much — if any — pain experienced during the workout,” Tauberg says. Instead, the soreness units in a day or two later, and it’s possible you’ll really feel achy even once you’re not utilizing these muscle tissue.
The ache from a pulled muscle is often extra instant and intense. “When you pull a muscle, you will often feel immediate, sharp pain,” Tauberg says. This may additionally result in restricted vary of movement and muscle weak spot throughout your exercise.
The soreness from a pulled muscle is commonly extra localized as properly, says Braun. If you possibly can pinpoint one specific spot that hurts — versus an total achy feeling — it’s possible you’ll be coping with a pulled muscle.
Muscle Strain Treatment and Self-Care at Home
If you suppose it’s possible you’ll be affected by extra than simply post-workout muscle soreness, it’s greatest to get the harm checked out.
“A pulled muscle should be looked at by a medical professional to rule out any possible concerns of a more severe injury,” Braun says. “Stretching a muscle strain can further the tears, so it’s wise to limit the stretching until other measures are taken.”
While you await an appointment, use the restoration methodology often known as the POLICE protocol: safety, optimum loading, ice, compression, and elevation.
“You want to protect the area from further injury,” Tauberg says. “At the same time, you want to keep the area mobile without further exacerbating the injury. Following this protocol within the first 72 hours after suffering a muscle pull should set you up to recover from the injury.”
Once you’ve been given the all-clear to begin exercising once more, don’t soar proper again in the place you left off. Start slowly and gently, suggests Herbst, utilizing high-rep exercises with lighter weights to extend blood stream to the realm and begin to rebuild power.
What Can I Do After a Workout to Help With Muscle Soreness?
Even in the event you’re simply affected by normal muscle soreness, there are steps you possibly can take to alleviate your discomfort. Braun suggests the next: