Guide To The Symptoms Of A Muscle Strain

Muscle Stiffness

As mentioned previously, many patients will have limited range of motion in their affected muscle as a symptom of a muscle strain. A similar symptom to this is muscle stiffness. Most patients will notice a muscle strain as it happens, particularly if it was the result of over-exercising. However, this is not always the case. Muscle stiffness becomes a significant sign of a muscle strain when patients start to suspect that something is wrong with their muscle a little while after the cause actually occurred. A mild strain typically results in mild stiffness, so patients should still have enough flexibility to move and use their affected muscle. A severe muscle strain will trigger significant muscle stiffness as a symptom.

Pop In The Muscle

Patients will often notice that they have strained their muscle as it is happening, even if they do not realize that it is a muscle strain at the time. One of the reasons for this is because many individuals will feel or hear a pop in the muscle when it is strained. Others describe the popping as a snapping sensation. The pop in the muscle is what occurs when patients strain their muscles to the point of the tissue snapping. This is quite painful for individuals to experience, and is fairly difficult to miss. Even if the muscle tissue does not snap completely, patients may still deal with a popping sensation due to the overstretching.