Usually, when we are feeling some muscle pain, the most common thing you probably hear is, “just stretch it” or “just roll it”! This is not always the case, especially for a muscle strain. Many people come to see us and say the first thing they did after a muscle strain was stretch, and it wouldn’t get better; well, we are here to tell you why exactly.
A muscle strain is caused by the overstretching of a muscle from fatigue, overuse, or not having a proper warm-up. If you stretch a muscle strain immediately, you are essentially repeating the motion that caused the injury in the first place. If you stretch, you continue pulling the muscle fibers further apart, making things worse and causing more pain.
Here is a little guide to help you understand when you should and shouldn’t stretch the muscle. Let’s say you are doing your modality of exercise, and you experience a sudden pain that is so bad you have to stop. This is a sign that some tissue damage has occurred and that you should not stretch it. In this case, you need to give it a rest and wait for the inflammation to go down before stretching it. If you are exercising, feeling some tightness, and the pain is minor, so it doesn’t stop you from continuing, you probably should stretch it!
It’s hard to distinguish because, in most cases, stretching helps alleviate pain and provides some relief. That’s why we are here to help, so we hope this helps you differentiate between the two cases to see which scenario you may fall under to help you decide the best steps to take towards comfort!
Are you an active adult or athlete living in Roswell, Johns Creek, or Alpharetta, and experiencing shoulder impingement or another injury that is holding you back? Since 2008 our proven 3 step plan has helped people stay in the game and keep doing all the awesome activities they love. Please give us a call or text at 678-400-0300.
