A physio can help you recover from a muscle sprain, strain or tear. The earlier you get help, the faster your injury is likely to heal.
Muscle sprains are common. They can occur when you stretch or reach out past your normal range while running, playing sport or gardening etc. A muscle tear is more serious as some of the muscle fibres will be broken.
Following an injury, your physiotherapist can help restore you to full movement and also teach you how to prevent injuries reoccurring. Treatment will include an exercise programme, possibly with the use of some gym equipment to increase your strength and co-ordination and restore any movement lost in the joint.
The sooner you get help, the faster your injury is likely to heal.
For an initial treatment of your muscle sprain follow the R.I.C.E.D method:
And avoid H.A.R.M. for the first 72 hours:
The best way to prevent muscle sprains and tears is to include a warm-up programme before starting any exercise, and then cool down and stretch when you have finished the activity. Advice on warm-up programmes and cool-down activities can be obtained from your physiotherapist or the ACC website.