“How are pulled muscles treated while lifting weights?”
I pulled a muscle while lifting weights in the gym. I applied hot and cold packs on my arm, however the pain is still there. How should I manage this?
5 Answers
Rest, alternating ice & heat, and sometimes anti-inflammatories. Consider being evaluated by physical therapy too.
Rest, rehab, gradual return to weight lifting. Work the other muscles till you're ready to return.
"Pulled muscles" are what we call strained muscles. This means that some of the muscle fibers have been torn and like any injury they need time to heal. With the injury the muscles are weaker and therefore more prone to injury. So it is important to modify your lifting activities so that you don't promote further injury. On the other hand I'm sure you would like to get back to your activities as soon as possible. Both heat and cold can be used to help manage the pain. So the most important thing is time. As your pain decreases then you can begin doing light exercise using pain as your guide. This would include using lower weights and less repetitions and if it hurts don't do it. Muscle strains will heal over time if allowed to do so. Anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen are helpful to control the pain, but do nothing to help the healing process.
Usually, rest, and ice to reduce inflammation. Then warm moist heat to gently stretch muscle prior to stretching/ home exercise program. If hurting after stretching/HEP then ice x 20 minutes every couple of hours to reduce pain and inflammation. May return to lifting/working out once full motion without pain and good strength. Mild strains can take 2-4 weeks to resolve, moderate strains can take 4-6 weeks to resolve and severe can take up to 12 weeks to fully heal and then gradual return to activities.
Use cold packs for no more than 20 minutes once an hour over the first 1-5 days. Do not use heat. Limit painful exercise to the amount that you can perform without pain. Continue all other exercise as normal. As pain improves, gradually increase the exercise that you have been limiting. After 10-15 days if you are still not able to do unlimited exercise without pain, see your primary care physician to determine if the injury is more than a pulled muscle.
