What to do about a muscular injury

Injuries to the back occur more often in the muscles than in the skeleton or nerves, because the muscles are under the greatest amount of daily stress.   Back muscles work constantly to provide support for your spine.  If your muscles are weak and underdeveloped, almost any activity can result in a muscle strain or tear, and that carries with it the added risk of damage to a vertebra, nerve or disk.

Sometimes a muscle strain is just waiting to happen!  For example I do a lot of massage which leaves me with some muscles built up and others weak in my back through the constant leaning forward motion.  Some years ago I went for a bike ride on a bike which was a bit too big for me.   I was leaning forward more than I was used to and my muscles were straining.   I did have a bath that night to relax them, and in the morning they felt okay.... UNTIL I went make my bed!   I stretched forward and suddenly the over strained muscles went "ping" and I had a muscle strain.  Think of it like a rubber band - it gets tight with our posture and daily use of the muscle - we get used to this and don't notice the pain/tension.   Then we do something different and it gets tighter still until one day we just stretch it too far and the rubber band/muscle gives out "ping".      So one thing to be aware of with back injuries is that they can be an indication of something that has been developing for a very long time.   For proper healing to take place we need to look at the whole body structure through:-

•  Proper treatment of the injury – rest and take pain relief first
• Be assessed by a physiotherapist and get some exercises to address the muscular imbalance which caused the problem in the first place  The focus needs to be on stretching the tight muscles and strengthening the weak ones – that way they start working as a team again in a balanced way.
• Have regular massage to aid the healing process and release tension in the muscles.

Injuries can let us know that its time to take better care of ourselves, and if we put the time in to care for our bodies, the benefits can last a long time.


Elayne Lane is a massage therapist and hypnotherapist. Click here to get in touch.

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