What Are Your Muscles Telling You?

Soreness vs injury
Everyone can benefit from a deeper understanding of the body’s mechanics to help distinguish muscle injury from soreness.

Cause and symptoms
Muscle injuries can occur due to overuse of the muscle, an accident or trauma. Being out of shape or doing activities you are not accustomed to may also contribute to pain. Unfortunately, most people don’t go to their primary care physician for all of their muscle injuries. Signs and symptoms include:

• prolonged soreness
• pain, bruising
• heat in a specific area
• deformity

Rehab and prevention
Rest from the activity that caused the pain is recommended to give your muscles and body time to heal. Ice and over-the-counter medicines can help reduce inflammation and soothe  discomfort. After pain has subsided, focus on improving your mobility with home exercises and physical therapy—helping you build muscle strength and flexibility. With the aid of musculoskeletal ultrasound, a noninvasive procedure, we can find new ways to treat muscle injuries. If pain persists for several weeks, see your doctor. 

Owen Speer, DO, is a primary care and sports medicine physician at CHI Memorial Primary Care and Sports Medicine Associates – Hixson. As a runner himself, Dr. Speer takes a special interest in caring for runners, bikers, swimmers and other endurance athletes. For more information, call (423) 877-1249.