Pulled muscle in back

One of most common back injury in athletes is a pulled muscle in the back. Still, pro or serious sportsmen are not the only ones that can get a pulled muscle. Just about anybody can. Common causes of pulled muscle include wrong sitting, standing or lying posture and lifting heavy objects, and this can happen to anybody.Symptoms of pulled muscle

If you have a back problem (pain, stiffness and similar) and want to know, if it is caused by a pulled muscle, you should recognize the symptoms. Typical symptoms of a pulled muscle in the back include muscle spasm, stiffness or tightness in the back and and sharp pain in the strained muscle. Pain is caused by over-stretching or tearing of the affected muscle.

Causes of pulled muscle

Typically, a person may pull a muscle in the back if they lift something too heavy, or lifts objects in a wrong position, or bend suddenly, or perform back exercises in a wrong way, or suddenly increases the intensity of back exercises. A pulled muscle can also be a result of sitting or standing in a wrong posture and overstretching and/or tearing of back muscles.

Treatment

If you pulled a muscle in the back, you should rest in bed for a day or two. This will allow the pulled muscle to relax, or to stretch out. Back muscles are maximally relaxed in the following position: lay on your back and put a pillow or a rolled blanket under your knees, so that they are slightly bent. This posture exerts minimum strain on both spine and back muscles and helps to relax the strained muscle. Be in this position as often as you can and sleep in this position as well. a strained muscle can be cooled with an ice pack, which should be applied for 10 - 15 minutes.

Cooling will have a numbing effect and the sensation of pain (as well as possible swelling in the pulled muscle) will decrease. Also, it helps to massage the pulled muscle gently, with circular motions. Use warm olive, mustard or coconut oil as a massage oil. Pain relief can also be achieved by using cold or hot compresses on the back. Try both and see which suits you best. If you must, use some painkillers, but take no more than two tablets a day, to avoid side effects which can turn out to be worse than pain. Also, keep in mind that lactic acid is a byproduct of muscle activity and that it causes soreness in muscles. It can be filtered out quicker if you drink plenty of water.