Muscle injuries such as a torn muscle fibre usually cause pressure, stretching and tension pain. While a strain is manifested by rapidly increasing and cramp-like pain, in the case of a torn muscle fibre or muscle tear it is rather the acute, stabbing pain that makes it necessary to immediately stop movements that have been performed. The above-mentioned pain symptoms of a torn muscle fiber differ in their severity and the degree of the injury in its respective manifestation.
The classification into different degrees of severity of the muscle injury ultimately also provides information for a more targeted therapy of the torn muscle fiber. In a first-degree rupture, less than 5% of the muscle fibers of a muscle are torn. This injury is equivalent to a slight strain.
Both injuries are caused by the overstretching of the musculature and do not significantly restrict the person’s muscle strength or range of motion. During active movement as well as during passive rotary movements, cramp-like pain can occur in the course of movement, which then has a more or less disturbing effect on the athlete and his performance. In the case of a second-degree muscle fiber rupture, a higher percentage of the muscle fibers in a muscle rupture.
Immediately after the injury, a visible and palpable dent in the muscle is already formed, which is usually no longer visible and palpable within a day due to the swelling that occurs. Due to severe pain, muscle strength and mobility are considerably reduced, and the limited contractility in the area of the injury is particularly disturbing, so that habitual movements are severely impaired. The tearing of a skeletal muscle – a third-degree muscle fiber tear – as a result of direct force or very strong contraction is usually associated with severe stabbing pain, which is felt with the same severity again when the muscle is attempted to be re-tensioned.
Contractions of this muscle are no longer possible due to the “muscle rupture”. Under certain circumstances, a so-called “muscle hernia” can develop, which can be made visible and palpable by bulging out individual muscle parts. After the so-called “dent formation”, the injured area swells strongly within the following 24 hours, a hematoma (bruise) below the injury becomes visible.
The complete rupture of the muscle leads to partial or, under certain circumstances, complete loss of function. Sonography can be used to determine the location and extent of a tear and hematoma with great accuracy. In the area of hematomas, a distinction is made between intra- (= within the musculature) and intermuscular (= within the intermediate muscle tissue) hematomas, the differentiation of which plays a major role in therapy and healing.
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