Q: How do muscle strains occur? What Causes them to recur?
A: Just why muscle strains occur is often unknown. However, the following factors are thought to contribute to recurrent injury:
Reduced strength of scar tissue due to previous injury. This may be the most important factor in the first 10 days post injury.
Reduced strength of muscles at other sites around the injury. This may be due to atrophy (not using the muscle) or limitations due to pain.
Reduced flexibility due to scar formation.
Possible changes in mechanics of joint motion due to the previous injury.
Certainly, recent muscle strain leads to an increased risk to the surrounding joints and muscles.
Q: Do anti-inflammatory medications speed up recovery from muscle strains?
A: There is no good evidence that NSAIDS (non-steroidal anti-inflammatories) such as Asprin or Ibuprofin increase the speed of recovery from injury. Conversely, there is a suggestion that they may actually slow the rate of recovery the tensile strenght of the muscle-tendon unit.
Q: How long must I rest after a muscle strain?
A: There is now general 'right' answer to this question. Unfortunately, no study has been able to prove a best time for return to sport. There is no test that can ascertain ability to return to sport.
Usually the best advice is to resume sports gradually, and to back-off whenever pain or discomfort occurs.