Pulled muscle

CassieLEO
CassieLEO Posts: 757 Member
edited September 25 in Fitness and Exercise
Anyone have any idea how you just pull a muscle but not remember even using that muscle? I pulled a muscle in my side towards my back and it has been hurting me for about 4 days now, yet I didnt do anything different and havent been lifting weights or anything like that. Owie!!

Replies

  • ChessRonin
    ChessRonin Posts: 160 Member
    If the muscle is stressed from an activity, say yesterday, it becomes tight as it recovers. If, say today, you don't warm up and adequately stretch the muscle, then do something which either requires it to contract suddenly or strongly or do something which stretches it suddenly, you can easily pull it.

    You were probably lifting something, or did something yesterday which fatigued the muscle without you necessarily knowing it, and it's probably a muscle that you rarely stretch or exercise.
  • Charrisse
    Charrisse Posts: 163
    LOL I almost posted an IDENTICAL post.. IDENTICAL. I pulled a muscle in the same spot - 5 days now.
    Are we supposed to workout through it?
    I think I did it doing oblique work Monday last week
  • dave4d
    dave4d Posts: 1,155 Member
    If it is not from physical activity, you could have a pinched nerve. It might be good to get checked out.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
    I once pulled a hamstring while tying my shoe. Painful! At that time ( I was 17 ) I wasn't doing any pre-excersize warm ups, or stretching when I finished.

    On a side note, a pinched nerve can sometimes feel like a pulled muscle. I sometimes get muscle spams in my left quad after really heavy squats. Doc uses great big words I don't understand, but I think she is trying to say that I will eventually adjust.
  • qtpiesmom
    qtpiesmom Posts: 394 Member
    Straining your back is one of the easiest things to do. I once strained it while I was sick coughing. It would be a good idea to go get it checked out
  • ChessRonin
    ChessRonin Posts: 160 Member
    LOL I almost posted an IDENTICAL post.. IDENTICAL. I pulled a muscle in the same spot - 5 days now.
    Are we supposed to workout through it?
    I think I did it doing oblique work Monday last week

    No, do NOT work through it. A pulled muscle is like a broken bone in one respect; there is damaged tissue. If you broke a bone in your leg, would you consider "working through it?" No, well, mostly because it would be impossibly painful, but also because you'd know that you need to rest it to let it heal. A pulled muscle is the same. When you "pull" a muscle, it means that you've strained it beyond it's endurance, and that you have created tears or other cellular damage in the muscle fiber.

    The muscle needs rest, ice or other cold therapy if it is swollen, and heat and light stretching therapy.

    If you try to "work through it" you will either make it worse, make it take longer to heal, end up damaging one of the attached tendons as well, or all of the above! You don't want any of that.

    Give it at least a week of doing nothing but the most minimal activities with it, as well as stretching lightly several times per day.
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