Stretching, splitting or tearing?
Over the course of our lives, we can often find ourselves with painful muscle damage. I often hear my clients report a tear, other times a strain, and, for the more athletic and jargon-savvy, a strain.
Often too, there is confusion and misunderstanding of the terms used. Let us then shed light on these different words, just to demystify these impressions.
First, it is important to note that all three types of injuries involve the muscle. This can happen to the muscle body, at the musculotendinous junction, but not at the central tendon or its insertion into the bone.
What is a muscle made of?
A muscle is made up of a series of muscle fibers, grouped into groups, and these groups grouped into groups of groups, so that the total forms the muscle itself. Think spaghetti. Spaghetti alone represents the smallest functional unit of muscle (the myofibril). Now group 50 spaghetti in a handle, this will form a group of functional units (the sarcolemma). Group a group of sarcolemmas together in the same way, and you get a muscle fiber. And in the end, all of this forms the muscle (see below).
So, what happens during an injury?
A muscle can be injured by several mechanisms. Often, a violent contraction of a poorly heated muscle can put it to the test. Otherwise, violent stretching can be a cause of injury. Otherwise, the muscle may be injured by direct trauma.
So we understand that the initial mechanism dictates the result.
When the muscle is subjected to sudden stretching and beyond its flexibility capabilities, certain fibers can find themselves overstretched and moderately painful. This is the case of elongation muscular. This type of damage is not really disabling, but it does present pain and some functional impairment.
Following a direct trauma, a violent contraction or a brutal stretching, it is possible occasionally that certain muscle fibers are torn. We are talking about a partial tear, often accompanied by swelling and more severe, but localized, pain. Pain occurs both when contracting and when stretching. In this case, we speak of partial tear or muscle strain.
In the extreme case, following one of the three injury mechanisms mentioned above, it happens that the entire muscle is torn. Here we are talking about a total break, or total tear. It is accompanied by intense, sharp and sharp pain, a significant hematoma, a visible morphological deformation (especially in the case of the superficial muscles), and a total loss of function. In the case of this lesion, treatment begins in hospital, often requiring (with some exceptions) surgical intervention and total care by the doctor and physiotherapist.
On the other hand, in the case of a strain or strain (depending on the intensity of the strain), physiotherapy can prove to be a manual treatment technique of choice. Thus, depending on the duration of the attack, and its intensity, physiotherapy addresses the injured structures to release the defense contractions and the imbalances/compensations caused. Your physiotherapist can apply different techniques of massage, stretching, lifting muscle tension and correcting compensations, to restore balance and function and support the healing process orchestrated by the body.
If you doubt what you have, your physiotherapist can provide you with advice, just as consultation with the doctor is essential for establishing a diagnosis.
One thing is certain, whatever the damage, consult as soon as possible, because a badly treated injury can cause delays in the restoration of good function, and can generate easily avoidable compensations!
Patrick Georgevich
Physiotherapist – Entrepreneur
