Should you foam roll a pulled muscle? (2023)

Is it good to stretch a pulled muscle?

Don't stretch!

While it may seem counterintuitive, stretching a strained muscle only makes it worse. Your best bet involves avoiding any movement that agitates the affected area and continue to rest until the pain subsides.

Therapeutic massage helps loosen tight muscles and increase blood flow to help heal damaged tissues. Applying pressure to the injured muscle tissue also helps remove excess fluid and cellular waste products. A 2012 study found that massage immediately following an injury may even speed strained muscle healing.

Rest: Stop the physical activity that caused your strain to avoid further damaging your muscle. Ice: Apply an ice pack or cold compress for 10 to 15 minutes every hour for the first day after your injury. After one day, you can apply ice every three to four hours.

There are many tools to perform self-myofascial release, but if you're using a foam roller, it will be important to only target dense areas of muscle tissue such as the calves, hamstrings, quadriceps, and gluteals. Areas to avoid with the foam roller include the abdomen, low-back, chest (for women) and the neck.

One instance of “regeneration” is when you're sore after exercise and your body knits together the micro-tears in your muscles you sustained by working out intensely. In this case of regeneration, the muscle heals stronger than before.

Typically, discomfort from a pulled muscle will last between three to six weeks. On the other hand, recovery for more severe muscle strains can take several months. Thankfully, there are many things you can do to prevent a pulled muscle, and we've listed a few of them below.

A pulled muscle should first be treated using the R.I.C.E. method. During the first 72 hours, heat should be avoided to prevent increased swelling and inflammation. After about 72 hours, heat can be incorporated into treatment to increase blood flow and aid the overall healing process.

Recovery time can range between a few days to a few weeks. Though many cases of muscle bruising heal on their own, more severe muscle injuries may require medical attention. If your symptoms don't improve within a few days of developing the injury, see your doctor.

Is it better to rest or exercise a pulled muscle?

Like we mentioned above, the best thing to do for your pulled muscle is to rest it. Physical Therapist Lewis says “You would want to avoid stretching the muscle for a few days to allow the acute injury to begin to heal.

Do not wrap tightly. Elevate the injured area to decrease swelling. Prop up a strained leg muscle while sitting, for example. Activities that increase muscle pain or work the affected body part are not recommended until the pain has significantly improved.

When it comes to foam rolling, yes, you can overdo it. Excessively using a foam roller on a specific area can increase injuries and leave you in more pain.

People often spend several minutes rolling on areas of pain, only to create more pain and irritation in those areas,” says Jiang. At best, overdoing it in one spot won't make a difference in terms of relief, and at worst, it can lead to more pain, he adds.

Foam rolling is generally considered safe to do if you experience muscle tightness or regularly exercise. But avoid foam rolling if you have a serious injury such as a muscle tear or break, unless your doctor or a physical therapist has cleared you first.

So how long will your pulled muscle take to heal? If it's a mild strain that only involves the muscle tissue, it will likely take 4 to 6 weeks to heal. More severe strains involving mostly the muscle tissue can take 8 to 12 weeks before you can get to full sports.

Sometimes the injury is more severe, and one, a few, or all of the muscle fibers get torn. In this case, you have a muscle tear. A muscle strain is an injury that occurs when a muscle or a tendon is overstretched. A muscle tear is when a muscle or a tendon is overstretched and it tears.

The difference between soreness and a pulled muscle

With a pulled muscle, however, the pain is usually immediate. “The pain from a pulled muscle is intense, sharp, and localized to where the injury occurred and can also be associated with swelling, bruising, and difficulty moving the joints nearby,” said Gregory.

Muscles that cross two joints, such as the hamstrings (the hip and knee joints), the calf (the knee and ankle joints), and the quadriceps (the hip and knee joints) are the most susceptible to injury. The hip adductor muscles are also commonly affected, though they only cross the hip joint.

Does ibuprofen help heal muscle strains?

No, in most cases anti-inflammatory drugs (like ibuprofen or naproxen) don't help healing. In fact, in some cases it may even delay healing. Why people (mistakenly) think that anti-inflammatories can help heal sports injuries?

Some feel acetaminophen works better for them, whereas others find ibuprofen better relieves a headache. Muscle ache or pulled/strained muscle. Ibuprofen typically works better for this kind of pain relief, due to the anti-inflammatory effects.

Keeping ice on an injury for too long — more than 20 minutes — can cause tissue damage and injure areas of poor circulation.

If your muscle strain is mild or moderate, the pain usually goes away within a couple of weeks. Severe strains can take a couple of months or more to heal. The pain is usually at its worst for the first few hours or days. After that, less intense pain may continue for another week or two until your muscles heal.

In general, almost all Grade I strains heal within a few weeks, whereas Grade II strains may take two to three months or longer. After surgery to repair a Grade III strain, most people regain normal muscle function after several months of rehabilitation.

Don't roll over knees, elbow, ankles, hips, and shins. Foam rolling is designed for soft tissue, not joints.

In summary, applying foam rolling after damage has benefits such as an increase in anti-inflammatory proteins and a reduction of pro-inflammatory proteins, resulting in muscle recovery and better performance.

First, when it comes to foam rolling and myofascial release, constantly working the area of pain could create more inflammation and tension in the area, further tensing the muscles and fascia. Second, where you feel the pain is not always the source of the injury.

There are certain conditions and circumstances where use of a foam roller could be detrimental or damaging to a person's body. Foam rolling exercises load and stress the underlying tissues, including nerves, skin receptors, blood and lymphatic vessels, as well as bones.

Does foam rolling speed up recovery?

Just three 20-minute bouts (60 minutes total) of foam rolling can substantially enhance recovery after DOMS and alleviate muscle tenderness.

Your Brain Releases Feel-Good Chemicals and Pain Diminishes

The therapist's touch causes an immediate reaction in your brain. As soon as your skin's nerve cells feel pressure, they signal the brain to release feel-good chemicals called endorphins, which boost your mood and give you a natural high.

Relax Muscles: Foam rolling helps our muscles relax by activating the sensory receptors connecting muscle fibers to tendons. Breaking up tightness in your muscles may help you feel less tense and calmer as a result.

3 to 21 days after your injury: Start to slowly and regularly exercise your strained muscle. This will help it heal. If you feel pain, decrease how hard you are exercising. 1 to 6 weeks after your injury: Stretch the injured muscle.

Are you dealing with an injury from muscle strain? If so, you need to stretch those muscles out! Not stretching properly before being active may make your muscles work too hard and cause injury. When you stretch an injured area, you can increase blood flow and help your tissues heal faster.

Typically, discomfort from a pulled muscle will last between three to six weeks. On the other hand, recovery for more severe muscle strains can take several months. Thankfully, there are many things you can do to prevent a pulled muscle, and we've listed a few of them below.

If it's a mild strain that only involves the muscle tissue, it will likely take 4 to 6 weeks to heal. More severe strains involving mostly the muscle tissue can take 8 to 12 weeks before you can get to full sports. If the tendon is involved your healing time will likely be more than 4 months.

For most with grade I muscle strains, healing time takes about 2-4 weeks. You can typically expect a full recovery in about 2 months for those with a grade II strain. If you experience a grade III strain, healing time depends on the type of surgery you receive and could take anywhere from 6 to 9 months or longer.

Recovery time can range between a few days to a few weeks. Though many cases of muscle bruising heal on their own, more severe muscle injuries may require medical attention. If your symptoms don't improve within a few days of developing the injury, see your doctor.

When a tear happens, the muscles have been stretched or overworked too quickly. As the body begins to repair itself, the muscle fibers regenerate and connective scar tissue starts to form, with your body's collagen aiding the process. However, the clean, orderly fibers never go back to their original formation.

How do you tell if a muscle is tight or pulled?

The difference between soreness and a pulled muscle

With muscle soreness, you won't feel it until a day to two later. With a pulled muscle, however, the pain is usually immediate.