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Contracture is the least severe of acute muscle injuries, as it does not cause any anatomical injury to the fibers. What occurs is simply an involuntary and permanent increase in their tone.
Muscle contracture: how does it manifest itself?
The subject affected by a contracture feels a modest and widespread pain along the affected muscle area. The hypertonia is perceived quite clearly and the athlete complains of a lack of elasticity of the muscle during the movements. Palpation allows to appreciate the involuntary increase of the muscle tone and to evoke pain especially in some points (active trigger points).
The pain is tolerable and does not prevent the continuation of sports activity. However, to remove the risk of complications, it is advisable to immediately stop training or competition.
all those activities that allow to stretch the muscles and to favor the flow of blood to the muscles are useful.
Moderate aerobic activity combined with some stretching exercises help to stretch the muscles both directly (stretching) and indirectly (local hyperemia). The ideal would also be to associate a decontracting massage at the end of the activity in order to loosen muscle tension and obtain benefits also at an analgesic level.
Certainly useful, but to be used only in the most serious cases and under medical supervision, are the anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and muscle relaxants which with their action help to relax the muscles.
Among the physical therapies useful to accelerate recovery times, we mention electrotherapy, iontophoresis and stretch and spray.
If the symptoms do not disappear after 10 days of conservative treatment (rest), it is good to undergo specialist visits to make sure that there are no more serious muscle injuries or that the pain is not the consequence of another problem (myofascial syndrome, postural imbalances , joint problems, etc.).
Read also: Muscle / Metabolic Contracture RemediesOften, the boundary between contracture and stretching is also thin and it may happen that a simple hypertone hides the elongation of some muscle fibers.
of contractures is aimed at the elimination of predisposing and / or perpetuating factors:
- Always perform adequate warm-up
- Make sure you are in the right physical condition to support the effort
- Cover yourself adequately in the winter months and, if necessary, use specific ointments during the warm-up phase
- Allow yourself the right recovery and regeneration times
- Try to correct any muscle and / or joint imbalances
