Muscle Tear: Causes And Symptoms

arm muscle

Muscle tear and muscle strain are two topics that people might get confused about. A strain is a muscle injury involving a tendon or muscle getting overstretched. The doctor might refer to the injury as the muscle pull or pulled tendon. And sometimes, the injury is more crucial and severe, whereby one or more fibers get torn. In such circumstances, it’s a muscle tear.


Welcome to this post, where you will understand the causes and symptoms of muscle tear and when to opt for muscle tear treatment. Let’s not waste further time and keep reading on.

Muscle Tear: Outlining the Causes

It might be a result of long-term and repetitive movements or a small accident. A majority of types of athletic activities impose risks of muscle pain and strains. However, muscle tears occur in contact sports like football.

Athletes who practice tennis and basketball require rapid starts in the beginning. For them, a muscle tear or strain is very common. Besides sports activities, these types of injuries can occur in individuals with the given risk factors like:

#1 Lifting a Heavy Object or Improperly

Lifting massive objects sometimes may result in a muscle tear. When you lift, you may cause a microscopic tear in the muscles that damage your tissues (the thing that builds your muscle). Especially for keen gym lovers, lifting heavy objects might cause it. Workout enthusiasts must allow for sufficient rest between hefty workouts. You must allow for tissue times to recover before you exercise again.

One quick note: Warming up before and stretching after your workout is important. It prevents muscle tears.

#2 Overusing a Muscle

Going faster than possible, exercising for more than the required amount of time, performing too many strenuous activities may strain the muscles. Additionally, it may lead to overuse injury. Any improper technique may take a toll on the body. And these are some causes behind the overusing of a muscle.

#3 Old Age

In old age, you lack adequate muscle strength. That can be one significant reason behind experiencing a muscle strain or tear. The ‘secondary injury response to’ &‘recovery from’ the contraction-induced muscle injury may get impaired as you age.

Other causes are:

  • Previous muscle injury
  • Poor postures
  • Previous muscle injury; and more

Muscle Tear: Demonstrating the Signs and Symptoms

How would you understand whether the pain is a sign of muscle tear? To demonstrate the condition: here’s outlining the symptoms, one by one.

#1 Bruising & Swelling

Excessive soreness, pain, spasm, and swelling in your affected area might be a symptom of muscle pain. Depending on the severity, you might find it difficult to move the affected portion. Bruising and swelling may affect the area, so much so that it might contribute to the feeling of stiffness.

#2 Redness Caused Due to the Injury

Initially, the pain might contribute to redness caused due to the injury. But eventually, it might appear discolored.

Other symptoms that you may experience are:

Ø  Weakness when moving the joint or muscle

Ø  Pain caused in the affected area

Ø  Inability while moving the muscle

Be sure that it’s a muscle torn when you hear the pop sound. That indicates the injury occurred. You can also notice a dent, gap, or defects in the muscle’s normal outline too.

When to Opt for Muscle Tear Treatment?

Torn muscles get diagnosed with physical examinations. The X-ray is only compulsory as soon as the doctor suspects a fracture. The orthopedist would check by further using imaging technology such as MRI.

Upon then, the medical professional may prescribe anti-inflammatory and nonsteroidal medications. Chiropractic care may also be suggested like physiotherapy or other massaging techniques according to the severity.

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