It is not unusual for any active individual to experience some sort of muscle injury or another. The degree of severity of your muscle injury may vary ranging from a minor muscle strain to a more severe muscle tear.
However, regardless of your peculiar type of muscle injury you can recover effectively provided you understand the type of injury you are suffering from and the best treatment for your muscle injury.
In this guide, you will get to understand the three main grades of muscle injuries, the stages of muscle injury healing, the best treatments for muscle strains,
nutrition for muscle recovery and repair, and the different ways for preventing muscle injuries in workouts.
What You Need to know About Muscle Injuries
First off, muscle injuries are inevitable whether you are just a casual fitness enthusiast, or an active bodybuilder.
Whenever you engage in weight training, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and extensive cardio sessions, you put your muscles under a lot of stress that can cause your muscle fibers to be overstretched leading to micro or macro muscle tears.
Muscle injuries often occur during your training routine as a result of sudden muscle exertion, improper form and movements, and excessive use of force.
Now, muscle injuries can be described by the severity of the injury and there are three main distinct grades and these are:
#1. Grade 1:
The first is grade 1 which is a mild muscle strain characterised by micro-tears that can cause you some degree of discomfort and pain.
#2. Grade 2:
The second type of muscle injury is categorized as a grade 2 injury which is mainly a moderate muscle strain where you experience partial skeletal muscle tears that can lead to inflammation, discomfort, pain, and even some degree of loss to your muscle function.
#3. Grade 3:
The third category of muscle injury is described as a grade 3 muscle injury that is characterized by severe strains and muscle tears.
Grade 3 muscle injuries often occur when there’s a full rupture of your muscles. Injuries of this type are very serious and usually require specialized surgery followed by an extensive period of recovery.
It is important to be able to distinguish between grade 1, 2 or 3 muscle injuries when trying to qualify your own injury, as your recovery and rehabilitation plan will depend on the grade of your muscle injury.
Physical Therapy for Muscle Injuries: Treating Minor or Moderate Muscle Strains with R.I.C.E
You can treat your grade 1 muscle injuries by following the R.I.C.E treatment which is one of the best treatments for muscle strains.
R.I.C.E is an acronym for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. This is an initial treatment protocol that you should follow in order to gain some instant relief from the discomfort and pain caused by minor muscle injuries and it goes like this:
REST:
You should stop engaging in any workout routine that could aggravate your muscle injury for a period of between 24 and 72 hours.
ICE:
In order to reduce inflammation and swelling, you should apply an ice pack to the site of your injury for a period of between 15 to 20 minutes at a time for several hours in a day.
COMPRESSION:
To reduce excessive inflammation or swelling, you should apply a compression wrap to the site of your muscle injury.
ELEVATION:
To minimize both inflammation and blood pooling to the site of your muscle injury, you should elevate your injured skeletal muscle.
Following the R.I.C.E protocol will help to reduce inflammation, relieve pain and discomfort, and stabilize the injured muscle to prevent further damage to the injured muscle.
The Stages of Muscle Injury Healing You Should Know About
When you are recovering from your muscle-related injury, you will encounter three main phases, namely:
Stage #1: The Inflammation Phase
The inflammation phase usually lasts for 72 hours and starts from the day you pick up a muscle injury.
It is at this stage that you need to rest and apply an ice pack to the troubled site in order to reduce any inflammation or swelling.
In addition to this, you should also focus on consuming foods with anti-inflammatory properties to help quicken your recovery from within.
Stage #2: The Repair Phase
The repair phase usually lasts between 3 to 21 days and this is when your body begins to form brand new muscle fibers.
You can further promote quick healing with some light stretching, controlled mobility or movements.
Back this up with a proper diet and nutrition plan that promotes the regeneration of muscle tissues.
Stage #3: The Remodeling Phase
The remodeling stage starts anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 months from the day of your muscle injury.
It is at this phase that you resume your weight training sessions with progressive overload to strengthen your muscle fibers and encourage muscle growth.
You should always take your time as you progress through each phase gradually rather than rushing through the phases which could lead to you aggravating your injuries and further extending your recovery time.
5 of The Best Treatments for Muscle Strains
Apart from R.I.C.E there are a number of other treatments that you can adopt to speed up healing.
Here are 5 of the best treatments for muscle strains:
#1. Physical Therapy for Muscle Injuries
You can both prevent muscle stiffness and restore full muscle function with specialized physical therapy and rehabilitation workouts like passive stretching to improve your range of motion, eccentric strength training, foam rolling and myofascial, and balance and coordination drills.
#2. Massage Therapy
With massage therapy you can improve blood circulation in your recovering muscle tissues while also breaking down any scar tissue.
#3. Heat Therapy
You can improve blood flow with heat therapy which can be started later on in your rehabilitation process. Heat therapy also improves the elasticity of your muscle tissues.
#4. Electrical Stimulation (E-Stim) Therapy
E-Stim therapy helps to reduce discomfort and pain while at the same time activating muscle fibers that are dormant.
#5. Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)
The use of Anti-inflammatory drugs can help to reduce both the inflammation or swelling and pain experienced with muscle injuries.
Ibuprofen is a NSAIDs that you can take to help relieve you of the pain caused by muscle injuries.
However, you should be careful to not misuse or abuse NSAIDs as that could lead to long-term health complications.
Nutrition for Muscle Recovery and Repair
While physical therapy has its benefits in promoting muscle recovery and repair, a good nutrition plan will help to speed up your rehabilitation from within.
Your diet should consist of essential macro and micronutrients, such as;
Protein
Proteins like eggs, legumes, fish, dairy, and chicken are great for the quick repair of your damaged muscle tissues.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
With omega-3s from foods like walnuts, flaxseeds, and salmon, you can significantly reduce swelling or inflammation of muscle tissues.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is great for boosting collagen and promoting the fast healing of damaged muscle tissue.
You can get your daily dose of vitamin C from bell peppers and citrus fruits.
Magnesium & Potassium
Magnesium and potassium will help to prevent and provide you with relief from muscle cramps while promoting the quick repair of muscles at a cellular level.
You can get your daily dose of magnesium and potassium from consuming foods like bananas, nuts, and spinach.
Hydration
You will be able to eliminate harmful metabolic waste from your body when you drink sufficient amounts of water daily while in addition to electrolytes, you will be able to maintain proper muscle function.
5 Tips for Preventing Muscle Injuries in Workouts
In order to avoid incurring severe muscle injuries, you should take these 5 tips for preventing muscle injuries in workouts below very seriously.
#1. Do Proper Warm-Ups
Before you engage in any strenuous workout regimen, you need to spend sufficient time doing a proper warm-up. Engage in activation warm-ups, dynamic stretching, and even mobility drills for some minutes prior to your weight training sessions.
#2. Make Sure Supporting Muscles are Strengthened
Your primary muscle groups could be under a tremendous amount of stress and strain if you have weak stabilizers. Therefore, make sure your supporting muscles are strengthened.
#3. Progressive Overload
In order to maintain muscle growth while also preventing sudden muscle strains, you should gradually increase your workout intensity and engage in progressive overload by steadily increasing your weights during the course of your strength training program.
#4. Pay Attention to What Your Body is Telling You
Whenever you feel pain during your workouts, it is your body’s way of telling you to take it easy. So, whenever you get this warning sign from your body, you need to take a break and rest.
#5. Be Hydrated at All Times and Eat Properly
By staying hydrated and eating properly at all times, you give your body the nutrition needed to promote fast healing from muscle injuries while also encouraging muscle growth and strength gains.
Conclusion
The best treatments for muscle strains will depend on the severity of your muscle injuries. With minor strains, a simple R.I.C.E protocol with lots of rest, a good nutrition plan, and hydration should suffice.
However, with more severe muscle damage, you may require more specialized treatment to help prevent a recurrence of the injury while promoting quick healing.
Ultimately, you need to listen to your body whenever you workout for those tell-tale signs that you may be pushing your muscles to the brink of damage.
If you need a personalized recovery program for your peculiar muscle injuries, you can reach out to an expert for free coaching today.
