Pulled Muscle in Chest : Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Any individual can develop a muscle strain in the chest. There could be varied reasons for initiating a pulled chest muscle.

Depending on various factors like age, physique, and overall body health, professions demanding more physical activity, facing any accident people several times have to face a pulled chest muscle.

Reason what may be but the condition is highly comfortable and it is always advised to reach out to medical help as soon as possible to control the situation and stop it from deteriorating further.

In this article, we will discuss what is pulled muscle chest is and various aspects related to it.

Pulled Muscle in Chest: How It Feels-

A muscle pull could be very discomforting. The individual will feel a sharp pain in the chest. Which may be unbearable at times.

The discomfort caused by the muscle strain in the chest is of such a high level that the individual finds it difficult to breathe and keep the body steady as maintaining any posture could be highly painful.

Pulled Muscle in Chest Causes:

As discussed there are varied reasons which can cause muscle strain in the chest while lifting a heavy load or getting a sprain while playing a sport. The various causes are:

Injury while playing sports like tennis or football.
Due to over workout.
Muscle pull.
Poor Posture.
While Lifting Heavy Weights.
Doing exercise without warm-up.
Due to exposure to some accident.
Due to falling or tumbling.
Severe chest infection.
Trying to reach overhead without maintaining proper balance.

Pulled Muscle in Chest Symptoms:

A pulled muscle in the chest is quite painful and the individual may feel discomfort while moving, breathing, and coughing. The various symptoms of pulled chest muscle include:

Discomfort and pain in the chest which may be minor or severe
Pain reaching up to the spine
Pain while moving
Difficulty in moving chest areas or nearby body areas
Muscle pull
Back pain
Swelling in chest
Soreness and bruises
Pain while sneezing or coughing
Difficulty in different body movements

Pulled Muscle in Chest When to Seek Medical Attention:

It is always advised not to ignore any symptoms as these could indicate serious health conditions which require medical attention.

There are several cases of health problems that may seem to be just pain but can have underlying serious health conditions which if left unattended can be devastating.

Visit the medical professional right away and get a diagnosis and treatment done on time.

The pulled muscle in the chest can be divided into three categories depending on the grade.

A mild condition comes under grade 1 and can be healed in 2-3 weeks. Whereas grade 2 is more affecting than the former one and will take 2-3 months to heal. Grade 3 is highly severe and may require surgery to get rid of.

Pulled Muscle in Chest: The Treatment-

After diagnosis treatment is advised by the medical professional. The treatment will depend on the gravity of the situation. Various treatments are:

RICE-

It includes four important components: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. In the beginning, the doctors recommended going for this treatment.

R- stands for rest which means to avoid any such activities which can put stress on muscles while performing one. Any activities that pull the chest muscles are to be avoided fully.

I- stand for ice which means icing the body part where one is feeling pain for almost 20 minutes at a time.

C- stands for compression which means putting the injured place inside a bandage to stop swelling and pain.

E- stands for elevation which means keeping the body part at a certain height while sleeping or sitting. The doctor may recommend the use of a recliner or pillows below the affected part.

Medications-

Never do self-medication rather get diagnosed by a registered medical practitioner and take anti-inflammatory drugs accordingly. If one does not feel relieved a medicine change is advised.

Exercising-

In some cases, rehabilitation is required. Sometimes massage and therapies are also advised by the doctor.

While in some cases an individual has to go for certain exercises to build strength and make the muscles more flexible. For this, a professional can be contacted in order to opt for an exercise plan.

Standing chest press is such an exercise. For doing the exercise push the arms swiftly upside. Now stretch your chest and stay in the same condition for 10-30 seconds.

Another exercise is a doorway stretch for doing it standing in the doorway and holding up the doorframe now step forward with one foot and lean forward to feel the stretch in the chest. Continue for 1 minute.

Surgery:

For grade 3 cases the option of surgery is taken. This happens in cases where the condition is too grave to deal with and other options are of no use.

The Bottom Line:

As discussed above Pulled Muscle in the Chest can occur due to various reasons. It is a discomforting situation to deal with. One should not ignore this condition even if it’s minor. Help from a medical practitioner should be taken at the onset of the discomfort.