Muscle Injuries

Muscle injuries represent great part of all traumas in sports medicine. They should be treated with precaution since a failed treatment can be very dramatic and postpone an athlete's return to the field with weeks or even months and cause recidivism.

Muscle strains

Muscle strains have 3 grades depending on the severity of the damage caused by the strain. Before to treat a muscle strain it is necessary to determine the grade of the injury. Grade 1: This is a mild form of a strain injury. There is no palpable muscle defect, none or minimal loss of strength and a mild discomfort when walking. Grade 2: This is a moderate form of strain injury. There is possibly a palpable muscle defect, moderate loss of strength and a feeling of pain when walking Grade 3: This is a severe form of strain injury. There is often a palpable muscle defect, usually complete loss of strength and very strong pain when walking, walking becomes impossible.[1,2]

References

1. Thomas M De Bernardino, MD; Leslie Milne, MD. Quadriceps injury: Differential Diagnosis & Workup. 19 januar 2010. http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/91473-diagnosis.

2. Joel M. Kary. Diagnosis and management of quadriceps strains and contusions. Curr review Musculoskeletal.October 2010. (published online 30/7/2010). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2941577.