Muscle strain

This is a common injury especially as we return to sports after some time off.

This is when you cause a tear or damage the muscle ligament or tendon. For minor issues using basic post-injury care may be enough; however, if there is significant pain or the injury is taking longer than a few days to resolve, it is important to seek medical advice, to ensure good tissue repair.

Causes

Normally caused by overloading the tissue, this could be:

• A trauma like a fall or being tackled in football, or rolling your ankle.

• Lifting or pushing something heavy; which is often done when your muscle is lengthening for example putting down something heavy. [1]

Management

Your Osteopath will assess the area and give specific advice based on the damaged muscle or tissue. They will likely work on areas around the site of injury to support the tissues around it; this will help reduce the strain on the damaged area.

They will likely offer specialised advice for your particular injury as well as exercises to help recovery and reduce the risk of recurrence.

Prognosis

Minor injury: 1-2 weeks with treatment.

Moderate injury: 1-2 weeks with treatment though vulnerable to reinjure for 4-6 weeks.

Severe injury: Months to heal with treatment and may require surgical intervention.

Note that ankle injuries have a higher-than-normal chance of instability without rehabilitation care. [2]

[1] BMJ 2018 https://bestpractice.bmj.com/topics/en-gb/578

[2] Vuurberg, G., Hoorntje, A., Wink, L.M. et al. (2018) Diagnosis, treatment and prevention of ankle sprains: update of an evidence-based clinical guideline. British Journal of Sports Medicine