Sprains and strains facts and how they come about and how to prevent?

A sprain is abnormal stretching or tearing of a ligament that supports a joint.

• A strain is abnormal stretching or tearing of a muscle or tendon.
• Sprains and strains may be caused by repetitive activities or by a single overuse injury.
• The diagnosis of a sprain or strain usually can be made after the health care professional takes a history of the injury and performs a physical examination. Depending upon the situation, X-rays, a CT scan, or an MRImay be needed to help make or confirm the diagnosis.
• Physicians grade sprain and strains based on how much damage has occurred to the muscle, tendon, or ligament. A grade three injury, where the muscle or ligament is completely torn, is considered the most severe strain or severe sprain.
• RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation) are the keys to initial treatment.
• Most sprains and strains resolve with time, but occasionally other treatments, including physical therapy and surgery, may be required.
• Anti-inflammatory medications may be helpful in decreasing the pain and inflammation of the injury.

What is the difference between a sprain and a strain?

The soft tissues of the body include the muscles, tendons, and ligaments that help the body move but are not part of the bony skeleton. Sprains and strains are considered soft tissue injuries.

• A sprain is an injury to a ligament.
• A strain is an injury to muscle or tendon tissue.

How muscles work

The purpose of the musculoskeletal system is to allow the body to move. A muscle attaches to bone on each side of a joint, either directly or by way of a tendon. When the muscle contracts, the joint moves through its range of motion. The muscle that you can feel moving underneath your skin is really made up of many smaller bundles of muscle fibers called fascicles. These, in turn, are made up of individual muscle fibers that are crosslinked to allow them to slide back and forth within the fascicle. Sliding together causes the muscle fibers to shorten and the muscle to contract and move the joint. When the muscle relaxes, the muscle fibers return to their resting position and as the fibers elongate, the joint may return to its previous position.

The transition of muscle to tendon happens gradually as muscle fibers give way to tendon fibers before the bony attachment occurs. The anatomy of each tendon is different and depending upon their location in the body, the tendon portion may be very short or very long. A strain is damage caused by an overstretched muscle or tendon, causing their fibers to be pulled apart, losing the ability to adequately contract. The severity of injury depends upon the amount of tissue that is damaged. The muscle fiber may be just stretched, partially torn, or completely torn apart.

The most common cause of a muscle or tendon strain is overuse, which weakens the tissue fibers. Muscles and joints may also be forced to perform movements for which they are not prepared or designed, stretching and potentially damaging the surrounding muscle or tendon. An injury can occur from a single stressful incident, or it may gradually arise after many repetitions of a motion (overuse). The damage can occur in three areas: the muscle itself, the muscle tendon intersection where the muscle fibers transition to tendon fibers, or the tendon itself.

Strains are described by the severity of damage in three grades:

• Grade 1 strain usually causes stretching of a few of the muscle fibers.
• Grade 2 strain has more significant damage, and some muscle fibers are damaged or torn.
• Grade 3 strain is a complete rupture of the muscle.

How joints work

Joints are stabilized by thick bands of tissue called ligaments that allow the joint to move only in specific directions. Some joints move in multiple planes. Therefore, they need more than one group of ligaments to hold the joint in proper alignment. The ligaments are anchored to bone on each side of the joint. If a ligament is stretched or torn, the injury is called a sprain.

The grading system for sprain injury is similar to that of strains.

• Grade 1 sprains occur when fibers of the ligament are stretched but not torn.
• Grade 2 sprains are injuries where the ligament is partially torn.
• Grade 3 sprains occur when the ligament is completely torn or ruptured.

Prevention of Sprains and Strains

Sprains and strains are caused by accidents. People don’t plan on becoming injured, but there are some practices that may help prevent injuries. Muscles need to be warmed up before exercise and work. Proper foundation to the body can help prevent and to start with the principal area that takes all your width and that is your feet. You need great shoes and great plantar support and this all found at www.dtfootwear.com

What causes a sprain or strain?

Sprains and strains occur when the body is put under physical stress. In these situations, muscles and joints are forced to perform movements for which they are not prepared or designed. An injury can occur from a single stressful incident, or it may gradually arise after many repetitions of a motion. Usually, the mechanism of injury involves placing the muscle tendon unit or the ligament under excessive stretching, causing damage to the muscle, tendon, or ligament fibers.

Where do sprains and strains usually occur?

An ankle sprain is one of the most common injuries of a joint. Usually, the mechanism of injury is a rapid “rolling” or “twisting” of the ankle and turning it inward (inversion) so that the sole of the foot starts to point upward (supination). This causes stretching and damage to the ligaments on the outside or lateral part of the ankle that hold the joint stable. While common and many are mild sprains, some ankle sprains can be severe.

Knee sprains are common sports injuries and often make headlines because of their potential for ending professional athletes’ playing careers. There are four ligaments of the knee that allow it to act as a hinge joint, flexing (bending) or extending (straightening). The medial and lateral collateral ligaments and the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments keep the knee in alignment and are assisted by the quadriceps and hamstring muscles. When a player completely tears the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee, it is described as a grade 3 injury of that cruciate ligament.

Neck injuries are common, for example, after a car accident. While whiplash is a nonmedical term, it accurately describes the head and neck movement when violently flexed forward and backward as the car abruptly stops. While the rest of the body is held in place with a seat belt and/or air bag, the head is like a bobble head and can continue moving. Both muscles and ligaments hold the neck bones (cervical vertebrae) in place, and the stresses placed on those structures can cause severe pain and damage. Sometimes, the vertebrae are not damaged, but the ligaments that support and stabilize the bones are torn, causing significant pain and swelling. On occasion, these injuries can cause the neck to become unstable and put the spinal cord at risk for injury.

Wrist injuries are common because we use our hands to perform many tasks. Usually, the wrist is damaged because of a fall, but repetitive tasks and a single aggressive move may also cause pain. Some sports are more prone to wrist injuries than others because of the forces that are placed on the joint. Sports injuries from throwing motions can occur in baseball, football, bowling, and tennis. Sports injuries from falling on an outstretched hand may happen with skateboarding, snowboarding, and skiing.

The thumb and fingers can also be injured. Skier’s or gamekeeper’s thumb is a sprain at the base of the thumb where the ulnar collateral ligament spans the metacarpophalageal joint, where the thumb attaches to the hand. This ligament holds the thumb stable during grasping and pinching motions. It is most often injured in a fall where the thumb is forced away from the palm of the hand, like when a skier falls and the ski pole pushes the thumb in an awkward direction.

Muscles strains may involve any body area that is required to perform work. Lower back pain and spasm is a common result of repetitive lifting injuries, but it only takes one twist or turn at the wrong time or in the wrong position to cause muscle fibers in the back to stretch and develop spasms. Low back strain is the most common work-related injury.

Muscles need to be well-balanced around the joints they move. For example, muscles can be damaged from overuse or imbalance. The quadriceps muscle in the front of the thigh extends the knee and is balanced by the hamstring muscles of the back of the thigh, which flex the knee. Excess bending or straightening can cause the muscle fibers to tear. Muscles that move and stabilize the hip are prone to injury. Groin injuries or groin pulls are strains of the hip muscles that normally move the thigh inward to the middle of the body. When the leg is pulled away from the body like doing the splits, the adductors are stretched and potentially damaged.

We use our arms and hands for a variety of activities, and the arm muscles (biceps and triceps muscles) and the forearm muscles may be strained by aggressive lifting, pushing, pulling grabbing, twisting, or any other activity that you can imagine the arm and hand trying to accomplish.

Chest wall muscles can be pulled or strained because of activities as aggressive as lifting or as seemingly harmless as sneezing or coughing. Acute strains of the large muscles on the outside of the chest (pectoralis muscles) or the muscles between the ribs (intercostal muscles) can cause severe pain and can mimic the pain of a broken rib.

The core muscles of the torso of the body, including the abdominal wall muscles and those of the back, lend stability to the trunk and are often the source of power for the arms and legs to lift and push. These muscles can be strained from many different activities that require the torso to bend, stretch, or twist.