Pulled Chest Muscle Symptoms

Chest muscles are involved while performing regular day-to-day activities, such as lifting an arm, bending over, sitting up or lying down in bed. Pulled chest muscle usually occurs due to overloading of the muscles in the chest area. It is also referred to as chest muscle strain. To be precise, a muscle gets pulled or strained due to overstretching beyond its limit. This results in small tears of the muscle fibers, particularly at the joining area of the muscles and tendons.

Though anybody can experience a pulled chest muscle, it is more common among athletes and those whose occupation requires excessive physical activity. Sport persons such as tennis players, boxers, weight lifters, basketball players and others whose professions require quick movement of the chest muscles and recurrent usage of the upper body portion are highly susceptible to the condition of a pulled chest muscle. Symptoms of a pulled chest muscle are manifested within 24 hours after the injury. Let's take a look at some common pulled chest muscle symptoms.

Signs and Symptoms of Pulled Chest Muscle

The most evident early sign of pulled chest muscle is pain in the affected area. Prior to manifestation of the chest muscle pain, an individual may experience a pulled muscle feeling in the chest portion, which worsens as a sharp burning pain during movement and / or rotation of the affected portion. Within a few days, the chest muscle pain becomes obvious even while lifting the arms. Depending upon the severity of the condition, the symptoms of pulled chest muscle can be classified into the following grades:

Grade 1: Pulled muscle in chest portion characterized by mild discomfort is categorized as Grade 1 symptom. Under such a condition, the person can manage and perform free movement activities.

Grade 2: The pulled chest muscle with moderate pain is termed as Grade 2 symptom. Very often, it is accompanied with swelling and inflammation in the affected chest area. An individual with Grade 2 pulled chest muscle symptom experience sharp pain during high level physical activities.

Grade 3: This the most severe type of chest muscle pain. Grade 3 symptoms of pulled chest muscle encompasses severe intolerable pain, muscle spasms, increased sensitivity of the muscles, tenderness, swelling and bruising in the affected chest portion.

A pulled chest muscle takes time to recover completely. If a person experiences pulled chest muscle, then he / she should stop training or other physical activities until complete recovery is achieved. In fact, proper rest is the basic tip for management and treatment of pulled chest muscle symptoms. Continuing workouts with pulled chest muscles may aggravate the condition, resulting in tendon injury. Applying ice packs over the affected area may help in relieving muscle pain to some extent.

For treatment of pulled chest muscle, one should consult and seek advice from an exercise professional or a health care provider. Do not follow unsure individual tips for recovering from pulled chest muscle, as they may worsen the condition, rather than reducing the chest pain. In order to prevent the consequences of a pulled chest muscle, it is always advisable to perform warming up and warming down exercises before and after doing a work out schedule.