Torn Muscle

Comahawk

So, I somehow managed to pull my left adductor muscle about a day and a half ago. Hurts like hell when I go up stairs or generally do anything that involves it, which turns out is a lot of different things.

Basically, I'm wondering if there is any way to quicken the healing process, because nearly screaming from the pain when I move slightly wrong is getting old.

Erios

Go very very easy on it. Make sure you eat healthily and probably a bit less than normal, after all, you are incapable of exercise at the moment. The important thing is that you rest and do not try and fight through the pain, which can really only exacerbate your condition and possibly both delay and inhibit a full recovery. Try to avoid anti-inflammatory painkillers, as I think they can harm you in this case. In short, take it easy and don't move any more than you have to.

chromdom

R I C E
Rest -- try to stay off it as much as possible
Ice -- Ice it, numb the pain and help take down any inflammation
Compression -- wrap it in an elastic bandage, being sure to take the bandage off so the leg doesn't atrophy
Elevation -- when you're resting, rest with your leg elevated up above your heart

Comahawk

Would a tensor bandage be of any use in this situation, given the location of the muscle?

I'd love to relieve some of the pain that way.

PirateJon

The "R" in the RICE method is old and busted for muscle injuries. The new hotness is more active recovery. The idea is to move it through the full ROM under load as it heals. And it works really well, although you better go easy and not re-injure yourself like I've done.


http://www.strengthmill.net/forum/showthread.php?t=700

Wait 3-4 days until the pain starts to "blur",which indicates that the immediate process of healing has stopped the bleeding and has started to repair the tissue. Then use an exercise that directly works the injury, i.e. that makes it hurt, in this case the squat. Use the empty bar and do 3 sets of 25 with perfect form, allowing yourself NO favoring the injured side. If it's ready to rehab you will know by the pain: if the pain increases during the set, it's not ready, if it stays the same or feels a little better toward the end of the set, it is ready to work.

...snip...

It will hurt, and it's supposed to hurt, but you should be able to tell the difference between rehab pain and re-injury. If you can't, you will figure it out soon enough. This method works by flushing blood through the injury while forcing the tissue to reorganize in its normal pattern of contractile architecture.

...snip...

This method has the advantage of preventing scar formation in the muscle belly, since the muscle is forced to heal in the context of work and normal contraction, using the movement pattern it normally uses. The important points are 1.) perfect form with 2.) light weights that can be handled for high reps, 3.) every day for two weeks, and 4.) no other heavy work that will interfere with the system-wide processes of healing the tear.