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No Magic Formulas for Muscle Strains

Muscle strains are a common type of injury, especially among sports participants. Even in this high-tech era, diagnosing and treating these injuries remains somewhat low-tech. For the most part, health care providers can usually determine if a muscle has been strained, torn, or ruptured simply by getting a history and examining the sore area. In some rare cases, an MRI scan may be needed to precisely locate the area that has been injured. (An MRI uses magnetic waves to show pictures of the soft and hard tissues of the body.) The time it takes the injury to heal depends on how bad the tear is. Minor tears often heal quickly. If more muscle fibers and deeper tissues are torn, the injured muscle may not respond as well to treatment and often takes longer to heal.

Common remedies for most muscle strains are resting the muscle and applying cold treatments. The authors report that cold treatments can be very helpful for easing pain, but they don't always reduce swelling. If it's too cold, the treatment can trigger the body to actually pump extra blood to the area, making the swelling worse. Compression and elevation also seem to help and are often recommended for pain and swelling. But the authors point out that there are no studies to prove this.

The authors also reviewed the benefits of using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for muscle strains. Although NSAIDs may prove helpful for pain and swelling after the injury, the authors caution that long-term use of these medications might actually do more harm than good. According to the article, most experts agree that physical therapy treatments help patients regain flexibility and strength in the injured muscle.

Muscles that are flexible and strong are not as likely to become strained. When they are fatigued or are not properly warmed up, injury is more likely. With this in mind, the authors conclude that people who are recovering from a muscle strain should be sure to regain good strength and flexibility in the muscle before going back to more demanding activities. They should also start by warming up the muscle and then avoid overworking it when doing physically demanding activities.

References: Thomas J. Noonan, MD, and William E. Garrett, Jr., MD, PhD. Muscle Strain Injury: Diagnosis and Treatment. In Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. July/August 1999. Vol. 7 No. 4. Pp. 262-269.

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