Advance Physiotherapy utilises the world’s best muscle recovery programs through cutting edge treatment techniques & elite sports strength exercises and Performance movements

Muscle tear injuries require an Accurate diagnosis and Accelerated rehabilitation programs targeted to your individualised goals, enabling you to achieve optimum performance quickly

Obtaining an Accurate Diagnosis is critical to your recovery as your Accelerated Rehabilitation program is specific to each muscle and will depend upon the severity of your muscle tear. Your return to sport program will be planned with you in your individualised treatment pathway and will follow the Worlds’ best elite recovery and strength programs. Returning to sport and activity too soon is a very common mistake, and can make a small tear much worse, leading to a prolonged recovery. A severe muscle tear may take 3 months to completely heal. Even a small muscle tear takes at least 8 weeks to fully heal and become strong enough for high force sporting activities.

How will our Physiotherapy assist your muscle tear recovery?

After a period of rest (1-3 days) it is necessary to specifically exercise the injured muscles to begin to regain full function. Our Physiotherapists will instruct you in the world’s best exercises to perform to regain your optimum muscle function.

Each stage of healing requires specific exercises and movements to be performed in the right manner at the right time in your recovery.

Deep tissue massage may be appropriate to release the thickened scar tissue, keeping the body’s ability to remove the bruising at an optimum and enhance the growth of new muscle fibres allowing the fastest recovery.

Our Accelerated Rehabilitation program will be developed with you focusing on your goals and your recovery pathway planned specifically to recover fast. Each treatment session we will assess your strength and performance to determine how next to progress your rehabilitation. Our Advance Performance programs are based upon the worlds’ best athletic recovery programs drawn from NFL and European football.

What you can expect in your recovery

Expect to see swelling and bruising which may continue to worsen in the days following the injury, all of which usually subside gradually over 3 weeks as the torn muscle begins to heal through the growth of new muscle fibres and with scar tissue.

Our Physiotherapists will quickly assist your complete recovery from a muscle tear. On the day of a muscle tear and in the first few days after the muscle tearing it is important you follow the RICER protocol;

Muscle Tears:

Acute muscle tears occur from overstretching of a muscle where a movement occurs at greater speed and force than what the tissue of the muscle can withstand. A tear damages the muscle fibres and/or its attaching tendons. Muscle tears can occur during normal activities of daily life and your work tasks but most commonly occur from a sporting injury where running speed and acceleration and deceleration forces are much greater

Muscle tear symptoms

  • sharp pain
  • swelling
  • weakness and a change in your ability to move properly
  • bruising around the site of injury

Damage can occur to a small area causing a partial tear to the muscle fibres, or a large portion of the muscle causing a complete rupture of the muscle belly. They are graded accordingly from 1 to 3.

Chronic muscle strains occur as small tears with a repeatedly and continuously overloaded muscle.

Understanding the severity of acute muscle strains will determine the prognosis and recovery of the injury and your specific recovery plan for return to sport is developed around this diagnosis.

RICER

Rest and unloading the muscle, which may involve immobilising the area, a sling for the arm or crutches for the leg

Ice the area with an ice-pack or ice-blocks wrapped in a tea-towel, for 10 – 20 minutes, every 2-3 hours over the next 72 hours

Compress the area with a compression bandage. These are available from our physiotherapy practice.

Elevate the area above the heart i.e. a lower limb injury should be rested lying down with the foot up on pillows

Refer yourself to Advance Physiotherapy for the latest cutting-edge Physiotherapy treatment and muscle recovery strategies.