Strain (injury)
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
Please Take Over This Page and Apply to be Editor-In-Chief for this topic: There can be one or more than one Editor-In-Chief. You may also apply to be an Associate Editor-In-Chief of one of the subtopics below. Please mail us [1] to indicate your interest in serving either as an Editor-In-Chief of the entire topic or as an Associate Editor-In-Chief for a subtopic. Please be sure to attach your CV and or biographical sketch.
| Strain (injury) Classification and external resources | |
| ICD-10 | M62.6, T14.3 |
|---|---|
| ICD-9 | 848.9 |
| MeSH | D013180 |
A strain is an injury to a muscle in which the muscle fibers tear as a result of overstretching. Strains are also colloquially known as pulled muscles. The equivalent injury to a ligament is a sprain.
Typical symptoms of a strain include localized pain, stiffness, inflammation, and bruising around the strained muscle.
Causes
Strains can happen to anyone and are certainly not restricted to athletes. In fact people can commonly get strains from simple, everyday tasks. Nevertheless, people who play sports are more at risk of developing a strain.
Whiplash is a specific type of strain AND sprain injury to the neck and upper back. One can suffer with whiplash symptoms for many years after a serious car accident.[1]
Treatment
The first modality for a muscle strain in the acute phase is R.I.C.E.[1]
- Rest: Stop all activities which cause pain to avoid the strain becoming more serious.
- Ice: Helps reduce swelling. Never ice for more than 10-15 minutes at a time. Use a layer of fabric or paper in between the ice and the injury to avoid burning the skin.
- Compression: Wrap the strained area to reduce swelling.
- Elevation: Keep the strained area as close to the level of the heart as is conveniently possible to keep blood from pooling in the injured area.
The Ice and Compression (Cold compression therapy) will stop the pain and swelling while the injury starts to heal itself. Controlling the inflammation is critical to the healing process and the icing further restricts fluid leaking into the injured area as well as controlling pain.
Cold compression therapy wraps are a useful way to combine Icing and Compression to stop swelling and pain.
See also
References
Dislocations/subluxations, sprains and strains (Sx3 where x=0 to 9, 830-848) | |
|---|---|
| Neck (x=1) | Whiplash |
| Shoulder and upper arm (x=4) | Dislocated shoulder - Separated shoulder - SLAP tear |
| Hip and thigh (x=7) | Dislocation of hip - Pulled hamstring |
| Knee and lower leg (x=8) | Tear of meniscus - Anterior cruciate ligament injury - Unhappy triad - Shin splints |
| Ankle and foot (x=9) | Sprained ankle - Metatarsalphalangeal joint sprain |
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
