How Severe is Your Muscle Strain?

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The amount of pain you will feel from a muscle strain will vary largely depending on the severity of the strain. The 3 grades of muscle strain are as follows:

The 3 Grades of Muscle Strain Severity

Grade 1 Muscle Strain

This is the mildest form of muscle strain, and is characterised by the feeling of a general ache in the area. A grade 1 strain should not hinder a persons ability to function casually, but will prevent them from undertaking significant stress on the muscle. The ache occurs during the activity and slowly disappears once the activity is stopped. If a correction to the activities is not made, then the condition will progress to a grade 2 level. Correction to the activity could include changing routines (injury due to movement repetition), the way the activity is performed (mechanics of form/performance) and/or more rest period length between activity periods.

Grade 2 Muscle Strain

A grade 2 muscle strain condition typically means that the pain becomes more pinpointed and tender at the area of the strain. Edema (excess fluid build-up) may occur at this stage, and symptoms will continue even after the activity is stopped. As a grade 2 condition progresses, swelling will progress as will suddens spikes of pain.

Grade 3 Muscle Strain

If you are suffering from a grade 3 muscle strain, you really have undergone a major muscle tear or even a full rupture. Range of Motion in the affected joint(s) will be severely limited and there will be significant bruising and swelling within 24 hours of the injury. Further to this, you will now be involuntarily compensating for this pain by using other joints in the body when attempting to perform activities (overcompensation).

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How Long to Recover from a Muscle Strain?

The length of time to recover from a muscle strain is very much dependent on the grade of the strain, and can span from a couple days to 6 months. Many studies suggest that a fast treatment response during the acute (initial) stage of the injury will lead to a very significant reduction in rehabilitation time.