Pulled Chest Muscle Treatment

Ever had to suffer the agony of a pulled chest muscle? You have? Then you'll know what I'm talking about when I say 'agony'. How else can you describe that excruciating pain and the inability to carry out any normal functioning? A muscle pull anywhere in the body is just as bad, but when you have a pull in the chest muscle(s), it is even more difficult to deal with because it restricts a whole lot of other actions as well, like bending, lifting your arms or stretching. In the following article we shall look into some of the symptoms of a pulled chest muscle and then go onto the most effective treatment forms for the same.

Symptoms

How does one go about pulling a muscle in the chest? This happens when there is way too much strain on the muscles in the chest region and that results in them over straining beyond their capacity and registering a tear in the muscle fibers. Thus the pulling or the straining of the muscles.

Pain
The most prominent symptom that this condition leads to is the muscle pain, muscle spasms and chest muscle pain that will be experienced. It might start out as a mild pain that hurts when there is pressure put on the affected area and increase as the days go by. Where earlier the pain was a dull ache such that activities could be carried out (Grade 1), slowly it intensifies to become something very painful such that everyday activities become very difficult to carry out (Grade 2) and that restricts the activities. The most severe type of symptoms involve severe muscle spasms, bruising, and swelling and the feeling of tenderness even to touch.

Other Symptoms
There are some other symptoms that are manifested depending on the grade of the injury. These include:

• Bruising (light to purple colored)
• Swelling (Evident when you run your hand over surrounding areas and then the affected area)
• Tenderness
• Restriction in any normal activities.
• Muscle spasms in chest
• Pain in the muscles surrounding the heart.
• Stiffness of muscles
• Reduced strength

Treatment

There are several ways of administering treatment for pulled chest muscle. Here are some of the ways in which you can bring about muscle pain relief.

Stop Training
A pull in the chest muscles is most common among athletes who train often. The first thing that needs to be done towards the treatment is to stop the training completely to relieve the pectoral muscle pain or else it can result in more severe injuries that will be difficult to treat.

Taking Rest
It is essential that proper rest is taken so that the injured muscles have a chance to recover. You need to completely rest making sure that you do not cause any strain to the muscles so that there is no relapse.

Using Ice Pack
Use an ice pack over the muscle pull. Make a compress and use over the injury 3-4 times in a day. Do this at a stretch of 15 minutes each and make sure you massage in circles.

Use Heat Pack
Like ice, heat is also one of the preferred pulled chest muscle treatment forms. Once the chest muscles start regaining the strength and start recovering a little, switch from an ice pack to a heat compress. You can either dip a towel in hot water, strain and apply that over the injury or you could simply soak in a bath. Do this for 15-20 minutes.

Medication
There are several over the counter medication forms that are available which will help in administering the pulled muscle treatment. But you need to consult a doctor before you take any of these. There are specialized creams and lotions and pain relief pills. A doctor will study the intensity and severity of your injury and prescribe the medicines accordingly.

It is usually advised that the chest be covered with a bandage so that the movements get restricted and the recovery is faster.

Now that you know the kind of treatment forms to administer for a pulled chest muscle, make sure that you do not neglect this pain and contact a doctor immediately for treatment.