Show Us Your (Sore) Muscles

If you’re suffering from muscular pain of any kind, contact us. The team at Cairnhill Physiotherapy are both skilled and experienced in offering what could be called “muscular physiotherapy.” Most muscle injuries involve overstretching or tearing of muscle fibres; either the muscle has been stretched beyond its limits or it has been forced to contract too strongly. The most commonly injured muscles during high-speed movements include hamstrings (pulled hamstring), quadriceps strain (quad tear), calf strain (calf tear), groin injuries (adductor strain), and lower back strain (lower back spasm).

Of course, everyone is different and there is no such thing as a typical muscle injury that fits into one tidy category. Muscle injuries are actually grouped into three different grades, and they include:

Grade I. This is a mild injury where just a few muscle fibres have been damaged. The affected muscle may be tender and painful but it retains its normal strength.

Grade II. This is what can be described as a moderate muscle injury. There will be a greater number of injured fibres and the pain and tenderness you experience will be more severe. There might also be mild swelling, bruising and, most significantly, a noticeable loss of strength.

Grade III. This is about as bad as it gets when it comes to a muscle injury. In most cases, the muscle is torn all the way through. Many of our patients describe a “pop” sensation as the muscle rips into two separate pieces or shears away from its tendon. As you’d expect, Grade III injuries are serious and can cause the complete loss of muscle function, as well as high degrees of pain, swelling, tenderness and discolouration. Because these injuries usually cause a break in the normal outline of the muscle, there could be a visible “dent” or “gap” under the skin where ripped pieces of muscle have come apart.

Because muscle injuries vary in their severity, it is important you get them checked out as soon as you can. It is not wise to simply think the injury will heal itself, especially if it involves tearing. Contact health professionals like us.  We may be restricted by COVID lockdown regulations but we’re still available to talk to you and point you in the right direction should it be required.