Sprains and Strains
You don't need to be an athlete to be familiar with a sprain or strain. Everybody somewhere in their life has had one to several of these. Sprains usually happen around the joint areas since they involve the fibrous ligaments that connect bone to bone. The most common is the ankle sprain.
These types of injuries are common because they can occur while running, stopping abruptly, quickly changing direction, falling, or being struck by another competitor.
These are the most common of soft tissue injuries. Many an athlete has been injured this way and taken to a doctor when the pain level is high. Once X-Rays reveal that there is no broken bones or deranged joint the doctor diagnoses a sprain or strain, a soft tissue injury.
SPRAINS: It doesn't matter how severe the sprain is. If you want to return to your sport quickly and efficiently without the effects of compensation, you must have professional treatment.
A sprain involves the stretching or tearing of ligaments. In a mild sprain, there may be slight swelling with soreness and tenderness present. Movement illicits discomfort but you can walk on it carefully until it heals completely.
In the case of a moderate sprain, swelling and bruising will be more evident since the moderate form of this injury involves more tearing of the ligament fibers. When a moderate sprain occurs, the joint is harder to move and more apt to be unsteady and painful with walking.
A severe sprain requires medical attention and possibly surgery. A complete tear one or more ligaments is usually involved in this classification. Forget walking, and don't even think about running. An injury like this usually feels like you broke a bone or dislocated a joint.
STRAINS: Alot of people call these muscle pulls, nevertheless, its an injury that if not treated right can change the dynamics and form that you need to compete successfully.
A strain is a muscle tear. These tears can range in size from microtauma to large fiber tears in the muscle. These tears occur either from direct trauma or stretching beyond their range of motion when a muscle group contracts powerfully.
In a mild strain there will be pain in the tear site with tenderness. This feels like the residual soreness that you feel after a hard workout. The muscle will move with slight pain, however, tentative. This usually lasts a few days to a week.
In a moderate muscle strain there is more bruising, bleeding, swelling, and soreness. The muscle in a moderate tear has suffered more torn fibers and will require care. In moderate and severe tears the hamstring, quad, or calf tears will bleed internally and accumulate at the joint below the injury. A torn quad can look like the knee is involved because of the swelling that accumulates at the joint. Similarly, an ankle swells when the gastrocnemius or soleus tears. The joint then also loses its range of motion due to the swelling.
Severe muscle tears have ruptured or crushed muscle fibers. There is alot more bleeding and bruising present. Movement that involves the injured muscle group is very difficult. There are times that the muscle has pulled off of the bone or pulled a piece of bone off with the stress and pressure. These types of injuries may require surgical intervention.
All strains require professional care in order to heal in a manner that allows you to return to your sport or favorite activity as soon as possible with out the risk of reinjury or compensation effects.
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