Muscle Strain in Chest

Muscle advancements cannot be realizedovernight and so you have to workextremely hard for them. It takes numerousweeks to have the perfect chest which is ingood shape and form. You have to get sometime and go through extreme and powerfulexercises to give you the mass and size youneed. The barbell bench press has beenused for a long time for Chest WorkOuts. Itis very efficient as you have to lie on youron the bench with your feet firm on theground. As you push together your energywill come from the chest upwards. Tocreate a good chest dimension thistechnique uses additional biceps.

Whether we realize it or not, we use ourchest muscles in most activities of our day-to-day life. Though the chest muscles areone of the strongest muscles in the body,they still get pulled, strained or torn due tooveruse or overload. More often than not,any severe injury to the chest muscles caneasily be avoided by taking simplemeasures at the right time, like takingenough rest and avoiding activities that canput pressure on them. But prolonged overload on the chest muscles, or an acute injury, can result intearing of these muscles.

Chest muscles play a vital role in supporting the movement of the shoulders and arms, as well as inlifting objects. Overstretching or contraction of these muscle tissues can create tension between thechest muscles and the ribs to which they are attached, resulting in a strain or a tear of the muscletissues.

Chest Muscle Strain Causes

? The most common cause of chest muscle strain is overload on the muscles due to prolongedoverexertion over a long period of time. With time, the muscles begin to weaken, and finally becomeprone to strain or injury. This cause of muscle strain is seen most commonly in athletes andweightlifters, who push themselves to the limits, and sometimes overdo it.

? Muscles can also get strained due to an incorrect posture being adopted while exercising orweightlifting over a period of time.

? Another major reason why one can have a strained chest muscle is the lack of adequate warm-upexercises before workout sessions.

? Sometimes, a sudden loss of balance while exercising or a sudden violent force landing on thechest may also lead to chest muscle strain.

Diagnostic Measures

Getting yourself examined by a physiotherapist can help in the diagnosis of a pulled or strainedchest muscle. If you are experiencing considerable pain in your chest region, it is better to get an X-ray done to confirm that it is due to a strained chest muscle, and to rule out any confusion regardingother injuries like a broken rib. In severe and complicated cases, the patient might be advised to geta CT scan or an MRI scan done, to confirm the diagnosis and related treatment.

Probable Symptoms & Treatment Options

The chest muscles can be subject to just a minor pull or tear, causing some pain and loss of strength,or they may get severely injured due to the tearing of the muscle tissues. Depending upon theseverity of the condition, chest muscle strains can be divided into three categories:

Grade I Strain

A mild strain, that is not a very serious injury and is merely caused by a pulled muscle. The muscleand tendon fibers are not torn, and there is no loss of strength. It may cause minor pain, but themuscles still function normally.

Symptoms: In grade Chest Muscle Workouts I strains, there is mild pain with body movementsinvolving the use of the affected muscles. Muscle strength and functioning is not much affected.

Treatment: Mild conditions in grade I can easily be taken care of at home by taking adequate restand avoiding the use of the affected muscles. Additionally, using ice packs for a couple of days,followed by application of heating pads can provide great relief.

Grade II Strain

This is a moderate strain that is caused due to tearing of the fibers of the muscles in the chest. Thisinjury can affect the strength and functioning of the muscles at a medium level. Most of the cases ofstrained chest muscles fall under this category.

Symptoms: In grade II strains, there may be some bruising, swelling or redness in the affected area.Muscle strength gets affected, and there is considerable pain while using the chest muscles. It couldget difficult to move the arms across the chest.

Treatment: Grade II conditions need more care, rest, and treatment, to heal completely. Recoveryusually takes about 2 - 4 weeks. Apart from ice and heat treatments, the doctor may also prescribesome over-the-counter medications like Ibuprofen, Acetaminophen or Tylenol, to mitigate the pain.

Grade III Strain

Although rare, grade III strains can happen too. A severe muscle strain in the chest can result in therupture of the muscle attachment with the ribs, and tearing of the muscle fibers. This type of strainmay require surgical repair and long-term rest.

Symptoms: Grade 3 strains involve severe pain and discomfort. There is complete tearing of one ormore of the muscle fibers. It involves significant bruising, swelling or redness in the affected area. Itcan also involve muscle spasm. Chest or arm movements, as well as muscle strength, are drasticallyaffected and restricted.

Treatment: These severe strains may require the patient to undergo surgery. This will have to befollowed by 4 - 12 weeks of complete rest, to fully recover from the injury. The patient may beadvised to use a chest bandage to keep the affected area from moving awkwardly, so as to allowtime for proper healing.

Like in the case of most health-related problems, the recovery period can be considerably reduced ifnecessary care and precautions are taken. Follow a healthy, balanced diet, and include moreprotein-rich foods in your diet. After undergoing the suggested period of rest, slowly begin to domild stretching exercises to bring back flexibility to the affected muscles. Follow a regular exerciseChest Workout Exercises regime as suggested by your physiotherapist. In most cases, with adequatecare and exercise, the patient is able to recover fully.

Disclaimer: This article is for informative purposes only, and does not in any way attempt to replacethe advice offered by a medical professional.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/muscle-strain-in-chest.html

http://ashotofadrenaline.net/hardest-3-minute-bodyweight-chest-workout/

http://scoobyshomeworkouts.com/

http://www.workoutbox.com/workouts/home-workouts/

http://www.mensfitness.com/training/build-muscle/30-minute-chest-workout