How can you see for yourself whether a muscle strain or a torn muscle fibre is present?
Strained muscles and small tears of muscles usually cause a very similar symptom in the affected person, so that the exact differentiation can be difficult. Nevertheless, there are indications and signs that can also serve as a rule of thumb for non-medical practitioners. Since the smallest units are damaged when muscles are pulled, but the basic structure of the muscle remains intact, the perceived complaints, especially the pain, often improve a little when stretched gently.
If the stretching has an alleviating effect on the complaints, the affected person can usually assume that the muscle is pulled. The strain and tension of the injured muscle, on the other hand, hurts both in the case of strains and all muscle tears. While a torn muscle fiber or even a complete muscle tear usually causes sudden and severe pain, the pain of a pulled muscle may initially seem tolerable and then increase even further.
Increasingly severe pain is therefore more likely to speak against a tear in the muscle tissue. Visible bumps or dents on the affected muscle, on the other hand, are almost always an indication of an injury that goes beyond a mere tear. Even a complete loss of function – i.e. the muscle cannot be tensed at all, not even under pain – is very suspicious and should be checked by a doctor. Last but not least, the recovery time also provides an indication of the type of injury that has occurred. While after muscle strains, the affected muscle can in most cases be slowly and easily strained again after 2 – 3 days of rest and no symptoms are noticed after about a week, a torn muscle fiber needs considerably more time to heal or improve.If the pain and swelling have not disappeared after a few days of rest and cooling of the area in question, a rupture of a muscle (fiber) can be assumed (duration of a rupture of a muscle fiber) and a doctor should be consulted to be on the safe side.
