There are numerous types of soft tissue injuries that many of us suffer with at some point in time whether this is through a normal, daily activity, a sporting injury or maybe even a work injury. Sports and Remedial massage is one of the best treatments for these types of injuries and the benefits can be great at getting you back to full fitness.
One common injury is a muscular strain which will most likely occur when a muscle or muscle group is overstretched and a tear occurs in the muscle fibres as a result of this. There are varying degrees of muscle tears; a Grade 1 tear is where up to 5% of a muscle’s fibres are torn which will cause some discomfort to the area but should have healed fully within 2 or 3 weeks. A Grade 2 tear is where up to 50% of muscle fibres tear causing a more intense pain with some swelling and bruising as well as some loss of movement and should repair within 3 to 6 weeks depending on the severity. A Grade 3 tear is a major tear to a muscle or a complete rupture ranging from 50% to 100% of muscle fibres torn. A lot of pain will be felt and often a popping or snapping sound may be heard where the tear occurred as well as ineffective movement in the damaged area, bruising, and swelling and because a muscle contracts when it is torn, a groove can be seen where it has gathered at one end.
