Muscle Strain Treatment in Football - How to get rid of muscle strain

Football is a very physical team sport which requires players to use a range of body movements such as sprinting, jumping, kicking and heading throughout a match. These dynamic movements often result in harmful forces being exerted on a player's muscle strain and tendons. As a result of this, it is estimated that nearly 30% of all sports first aid incidents in football are muscle stain and tendon injuries.

Put simply, a muscle strain happens when muscle tissue is over-stretched. In football games, this normally happens when a player attempts a running, stretching or kicking movement with a poor technique or while unbalanced. An injured player will feel a localised pain which will worsen with any attempt to stretch or contract the muscle and so will need prompt sports first aid treatment. When being treated, muscle strains are assessed according to their severity and are identified as either Grade One, Grade Two, or Grade Three:

Grade One is a mild strain which normally requires two to three weeks rest and the temporary use of sports supports when playing again.

Grade Two is a more serious strain although the muscle is not entirely ruptured. Three to six weeks rest is normally enough. Again, the wearing of sports supports can be beneficial upon return to action.

Grade Three is a complete muscle rupture. This is a serious injury and so will normally require surgery. The rehabilitation time for a complete rupture can be up to three months.

It is very important that muscle strains are given enough time to properly heal. If a player doesn't rest adequately then a strain will only get worse. This may cause more problems at a later date as a Grade One strain can easily develop in to a Grade Two strain or sometimes even a Grade Three rupture.

Muscle Strain Treatment

Self-Care at Home

The amount of swelling or local bleeding into the muscle (from torn blood vessels) can best be managed early by applying ice packs and maintaining the strained muscle in a stretched position. Heat can be applied when the swelling has lessened. However, the early application of heat can increase swelling and pain.

Note: Ice or heat should not be applied to bare skin. Always use a protective covering such as a towel between the ice or heat and the skin.

• Take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents such as aspirin (Bufferin, Ecotrin) and ibuprofen (Advil) to reduce the pain and to improve your ability to move around.
• Protection, rest, ice, compression, and elevation (known as the PRICE formula) can help the affected muscle. Here's how: First, remove all constrictive clothing, including jewelry, in the area of muscle strain.
• Protect the strained muscle from further injury.
• Rest the strained muscle. Avoid the activities that caused the strain and other activities that are painful.
• Ice the muscle area (20 minutes every hour while awake). Ice is a very effective anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving agent. Small ice packs, such as packages of frozen vegetables or water frozen in foam coffee cups, applied to the area may help decrease inflammation.
• Compression can be a gently applied with an Ace or other elastic bandage, which can provide both support and decrease swelling. Do not wrap tightly.
• Elevate the injured area to decrease swelling. Prop up a strained leg muscle while sitting, for example.
• Activities that increase muscle pain or work the affected body part are not recommended until the pain has significantly gone away.