What is a pulled muscle?

We’ve all heard this expression on many occasions round the football pitch, on the squash court, even in the gym, but what does it really mean? A pulled muscle refers to a tear in the muscle. Tears can be either sudden and acute or long term and chronic. 

Acute muscle tears happen suddenly and cause immediate pain. At some stage you’ve probably seen images of footballers pull up on the pitch or athletes in a race, fall away to the side of the track. These are acute muscle tears and cause immediate loss of function. Swelling will occur which can be reduced through immediate rest, ice, compression and elevation. You must let these acute muscle tears heal before you resume similar strenuous exercise. There will always be less demanding remedial exercises that can be prescribed, to promote healing. This type of muscle tear can be caused by lack of an effective warm up prior to exercise, stress and fatigue and imbalances in opposing muscles.

Chronic muscle tears develop over time and often occur because of an unwillingness to rest or adapt the exercise that aggravates the muscle tear. This type of tear is particularly common in athletes participating in endurance exercise, such as cycling and running. The pain often starts mild and builds during exercise; warmth in the muscle can often disguise the full impact of the tear. On occasions the torn muscle will go into a spasm to protect itself from further use and damage. Do not ignore the warning signs. This is the time to stop. As with acute tears, you must refrain from the exercise that aggravates the injury and allow for remedial treatment and repair. Stretching, foam rolling, mobilisation, strengthening and massage can all be of benefit.