Treating a Muscle Strain Safely

Most of us require a lot of our muscles throughout any given day. Even as we’re sedentary, specific muscle groups can be active, or pressure can be applied to targeted areas. For those involved with sports, exercise, or physically exerting hobbies, muscle groups have to work harder and more often, which can cause muscle strain. 

Visiting your local chiropractor for a muscle strain can help you determine what’s wrong, where your injury is, how to treat the strain, and give you tips to keep your body safe going forward.

This post discusses:

• What a muscle strain is
• Symptoms of muscle strains
• Why you may experience a muscle strain
• How to help avoid getting muscle strains 
• How chiropractic solutions will treat a muscle strain 
• And more

If you think you have a muscle strain, you can safely and naturally treat it, heal the muscle, and get back to your active lifestyle with chiropractic care. Read on to learn more about muscle strain and how to care for your body.

What is a Muscle Strain?

Muscle strains can occur when the muscle is stretched unnaturally or repeatedly, often creating a tear in the muscle or within a tissue that connects the muscle to bone (a tendon). Because our bodies are full of muscle groups, strains can happen just about anywhere; however, they typically occur in the lower back and legs.  

Common symptoms of a muscle strain include:

• Muscle pain that comes on suddenly, generally after a specific movement or accident 
• Muscle spasms
• Aching area that’s painful to the touch
• Pain that lessens while at rest
• Muscle weakness 
• Muscle tenderness
• Swelling
• Inability to move the muscle

Chiropractors treat soft tissues and have numerous techniques that promote natural healing, restoring proper muscle function so you can return to your routine pain-free. They will also provide lifestyle, exercise, and stretching guidance so you have the tools to keep your muscles strong and protected. 

Reasons for muscle strains include:

• Poor flexibility
• Muscle overuse, often due to regular exercise or occupation
• Not warming up prior to physical activity
• A traumatic event, such as a sports accident
• Improperly using your muscles, such as with poor lifting technique 
• Habitual poor posture and incorrect movement patterns 

Tips to Help Prevent Muscle Strains

Because muscle strains can occur because of an accident, there’s no way to ensure you never get the condition; however, the stronger and more flexible your body is, the better you will respond to injuries and recover from them. 

Ways to help avoid muscle strains include:

• Make exercise and stretching part of your daily routine
• Adhere to proper lifting practices 
• Learn and practice correct posture
• Warm-up and cool-down before and after physical activity 
• Rest when your body needs it
• Get plenty of good sleep so your body can recover adequately 
• Stay hydrated
• Maintain a healthy weight

These tips can help keep your muscles safe, but if you find yourself with the dysfunction, getting chiropractic care for muscle strain is an excellent place to start the healing process. 

Visit Our Pittsburgh Chiropractic Clinic for Muscle Strain

Our chiropractic team has worked with patients of all ages and lifestyles who suffer from muscle strain. The condition ranges from dull to debilitating and can worsen over time if not treated. We provide a thorough physical exam to assess the body and determine the cause of your symptoms. 

Our Pittsburgh chiropractor is ready to create the best healing and recovery strategy based on you and your needs, goals, and abilities. We’ll give you take-home insight to complement your in-clinic solutions for optimized, lasting, and quick results. 

We know you want to return to your quality of life, enjoying the activities you love, and confident that your body can support you.