Best way to heal a hurt muscle?

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hawkmancody
hawkmancody Posts: 63 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
Ok for some dumb reason today I got out of my car and went into the gym and set my stuff on the bench now when I did that I felt something in my leg.

No problem I thought and went to do the first set of my squats in the ICF 5x5 program. On my warmup sets with just the 45 lb bar I felt some uncomfortableness in my left inside thigh. I move on to another warmup set of 135 (currently 185 5x5). And after 2 reps I started thinking I should quit. So I did but I have no idea why it is like that it wasn't sore all day today and I have a fairly active job.

So I'm skipping the squats today and hopefully it will be better by Wednesday.

Anyone got any tips to help?
Thanks

Replies

  • AmberSpamber
    AmberSpamber Posts: 391 Member
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    I like to foam roll and ice my muscles when they are giving me grief... but biggest thing is time. If it is still bugging you on Wed, don't push it.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    Time. Heat/Cold may help, Tylenol or Ibuprofen. But time is the best thing. I've used heat/cold and creams like aspercream, Ben Gay, etc. and the relief is temporary, only time seems to help muscle soreness. If it's mildly sore, keeping it active may help speed things up, but if it's majorly sore, stretch and rest, stretch and rest.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    I think it depends on the nature of the injury.

    I'm not qualified to treat or diagnose injuries and so if this is something that isn't substantially better in a few days I would suggest seeing a doctor or physical therapist.

    One very general thing I'd keep in mind would be to avoid exercises that cause pain to the area. If squats hurt, stop squatting until they no longer cause pain to the area.
  • hawkmancody
    hawkmancody Posts: 63 Member
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    AmberSpamber wrote: »
    I like to foam roll and ice my muscles when they are giving me grief... but biggest thing is time. If it is still bugging you on Wed, don't push it.

    Yes I definitely don't want to make it worse but I am kind of frustrated because this week I was planning to get up to my bodyweight on the bar. Oh well :(

    Don't worry if it's still hurting by Wednesday I'll skip squats. :)
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    SideSteel wrote: »
    I think it depends on the nature of the injury.

    I'm not qualified to treat or diagnose injuries and so if this is something that isn't substantially better in a few days I would suggest seeing a doctor or physical therapist.

    One very general thing I'd keep in mind would be to avoid exercises that cause pain to the area. If squats hurt, stop squatting until they no longer cause pain to the area.

    That's pretty much a good all-around answer. I've had cases of DOMS take up to five days to heal. After a week though I'd consider it an injury as well.
  • hawkmancody
    hawkmancody Posts: 63 Member
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    What exactly dos DOMS stand for ? I've seen it used a lot around here.

    My guess is delayed onset muscle soreness but I'm not sure.

    Thanks for the answers so far guys.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,677 Member
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    Delayed onset muscle soreness. Sometimes it hurts more two days after a hard workout than the day of or the day after.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    I think it's usually fine to train through DOMS as long as it's not preventing you from safely exercising and using proper technique.

    I don't think it's okay to train through pain caused from injury.

    Just wanted to clarify that.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,977 Member
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    Spliner1969 wrote: »
    I had cases of DOMS take up to five days to heal. After a week though I'd consider it an injury as well.

    This is NOT a case of DOMS. The OP reported an acute pain felt in the left thigh that was bad enough to make him quit lifting.

    RICE - rest, ice, compression and elevation - is the standard advice given to address such pain but, if the pain doesn't go away, then a visit to the doc to get an Xray and MRI would be advisable.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    sgt1372 wrote: »
    This is NOT a case of DOMS. The OP reported an acute pain felt in the left thigh that was bad enough to make him quit lifting.

    RICE - rest, ice, compression and elevation - is the standard advice given to address such pain but, if the pain doesn't go away, then a visit to the doc to get an Xray and MRI would be advisable.
    hawkmancody wrote: »
    Ok for some dumb reason today I got out of my car and went into the gym and set my stuff on the bench now when I did that I felt something in my leg.

    Not sure the OP said anything about acute pain. I think the words used were "something" and "uncomfortableness".





  • _benjammin
    _benjammin Posts: 1,224 Member
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    Rest. If still painful/uncomfortable after a week, maybe physical therapy or more rest. I would not be rushing to get an MRI and an Xray is likely useless.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,931 Member
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    Ice and rest. Straight from the mouth of my paramedic friend.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    RICE


    Rest
    Ice
    Compression
    Exercise(light/recuperative)
  • CafeRacer808
    CafeRacer808 Posts: 2,396 Member
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    stanmann571 wrote: »
    RICE


    Rest
    Ice
    Compression
    Exercise(light/recuperative)

    The "E" in "RICE" stands for elevation, not exercise.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    CafeRacer808 wrote: »
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    RICE


    Rest
    Ice
    Compression
    Exercise(light/recuperative)

    The "E" in "RICE" stands for elevation, not exercise.

    Thanks, I knew it didn't feel right. but I couldn't come up with elevation... and I was too lazy to google.

    I apologize.
  • Master_Butcher
    Master_Butcher Posts: 50 Member
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    Rest rest rest. You gotta rest the muscle and almost show it some love. Massaging the area will help move the blood around as well as providing it warmth. But yeah, therapy will be a good option it the pain doesn't subside after a consistent effort to rehab it from yourself.
  • pbryd
    pbryd Posts: 364 Member
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    I always try some light stretching and a foam roller.

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