Muscle Strain in Chest

Following a vigorous workout continuously catches up with you sometimes. Most people think that they can take a bit more weight and keep on increasing it till it becomes too much for them. People think it is fine but they don't realize that the muscle is being strained till it actually sends the signal. Most of the time, a muscle doesn't get strained all of a sudden. It is after you push the muscle to a point where it can no longer take the weight. Having said that, there are some injuries that happen due to a single violent hurt on the chest. Either way, muscle strain is a relatively common occurrence and not too hard to deal with.

It is very important to take care of your chest muscle, because if it is unnecessarily strained further, they may take more time to heal and may make you more prone to the injury. In rare cases of severe muscle strain, it may never heal too. So it is very important to know how to take care of a muscle strain in chest and how to avoid it in the future.

Types of Chest Muscle Strain
They can be defined as an injury to either the muscles or the tendons that are attached to the sternum. This injury can be divided into three levels based on the severity of the injury sustained.

• Mild Strain (Grade I): A mild strain is not a very serious injury and is merely a pulled muscle with some pain. The muscle and tendon fibers are not torn and there is no loss of strength.
• Moderate Strain (Grade II): A moderate strain is caused due to tearing in fibers of the muscles in the chest. This injury will diminish your strength and will require rest till it heals.
• Severe Strain (Grade III): A severe muscle strain results in the rupture of the muscle-tendon attachments and tears the fibers as well. This type of strain requires surgical repair and long-term rest.

Causes of Muscle Strain in Chest
They may be caused due to two main reasons. The first cause is the prolonged use of the chest muscle. Overdoing your chest workout routine is one of the most common causes. Sometimes a person also does not use the correct motion for chest muscle workout, and hence gets an injury. A sudden loss of balance while doing exercises may also lead to muscle strain. Another common mistake which most people make is not warming up before a workout and hence they sustain an injury. Another common cause is a sudden violent force landing on the chest. So if you pull your chest too hard or the chest muscle gets stretched hard, you may strain your chest muscles. Read more on chest muscle pain.

Symptoms of Chest Muscle Strain
If you suffer a muscle strain in the chest how would you find out? It isn't too hard really. In case of a muscle strain, the person experiences muscle pain while stretching or moving the arms. Often there may be a swelling around the injured area. There may also be a muscle spasm in chest which is a common symptom of muscle strain. In case of moderate and severe strain, there is a loss of strength and an inability to do several tasks. Sometimes if the person presses the injured area with the fingers, there will be a crackling sound or feeling which is known as crepitation. In order to exactly diagnose a muscle strain in the chest, one can get an X-ray done. If in that X-ray there is calcification of muscles or tendons, then there is a muscle strain in your chest. You can also read for information on pulled chest muscle symptoms.

Treatment of Chest Muscle
Usually, depending upon the severity of the strain, the doctor will prescribe certain care and measures for treatment of the muscle strain. But along with those, these general measures can also be used. Initially, you can use an ice pack. An ice pack is ideally used 3 - 4 times a day for 15 minutes each time. Gently massage the chest in a circular motion. After 24 hours, you can also use heat lamps and heating pads. In case of more severe injuries, you may have to wrap your chest with an elasticized bandage to avoid more damage to the chest muscles. After a few days you can also get a massage on your chest gently as it helps reduce swelling. One more very important step to treat a muscle strain in chest is to consume a diet rich in proteins, as it will help in rebuilding the muscle. But it is better to check the utility of these steps with the doctor before you take any of these steps.

How to Prevent Chest Muscle
Like any injury,a chest strain really restricts your activities and hence it is best to avoid. So to prevent this injury from occurring again, few steps have to be taken. Before you start your workout again, it is better to get yourself checked by a physiotherapist. You also need to go through strengthening and conditioning programs for the strength in the chest to return. Also, warming-up well before an activity is very important as it avoids the chances of muscle strain.

Like I said before, a muscle strain in chest really 'hamstrings' your daily activities and should be avoided. So take good care of yourself!