How To Speed Up Muscle Strain Recovery With Percussion Therapy
Today we’ll take a look at what you can do at home to alleviate pain from minor muscle strains - that is, very small tears that only involve a few muscle fibres. With these strains, you could still walk and maybe even jog slowly with limited pain. This is called a Grade 1 muscle strain.
Grade 2 and 3 strained muscles are more serious and involve a heightened level of pain (even when resting), bruising, and an inability to move the injured area very much. [1] These injuries require physical therapy but can also benefit from the home care that we’re about to discuss.
We’ll also introduce percussion therapy as a supportive therapy to help you recover faster. This therapy should be incorporated into the treatment plan found below.
Treatment plan for muscle recovery
Day 1: R.I.C.E protocol
The first 24 hours after a muscle injury are the most critical for preventing future injury and speeding up recovery. The strained muscle can be treated with a number of interventions aimed at decreasing bleeding, improving circulation, reducing inflammation, and healing damaged tissue.
1. Rest
As soon as you injure yourself, stop whatever you are doing. This is important for faster recovery. Carrying on with activity after you feel pain, muscle spasms, and weakness will worsen your injury.
During the first day, take it very easy. Muscle healing involves the repair of muscle fibers, and perhaps even joints, tendons and ligaments, depending on your injury. You can use over the counter pain medication such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to relieve pain. Most muscle strains respond positively to the R.I.C.E method if diligently followed.
2. Ice
You must limit internal bleeding as soon as possible. Apply an ice pack to the injured muscle to prevent the tissues from becoming too inflamed. Exercise caution with this. The ice pack stops bleeding because the body doesn’t want to lose heat, so it narrows the blood vessels to that area when you apply it.
However, if you keep the ice pack on for too long, the blood vessels will open up as a response to the cold, and blood flow will actually increase. The reason for this is biological. The brain realises you’re about to damage the skin and sends signals to the blood vessels to open and warm the area back up. 10 minutes is all you need to start. You can repeat this regime every 2-3 hours until you feel relief. Try to put something between the skin and the ice pack to protect your skin.
3. Compression
This is also about limiting internal bleeding on the first day. The level of compression must be like a firm hug. The elastic bandage or compression garment must not be restrictive, and you definitely should not feel any pain from using it. If your skin turns blue or there is a tingling sensation, you are cutting off blood flow to the injury site!
4. Elevation
You can greatly minimize the amount of internal bleeding from muscle injuries by elevating the body part above your heart. For instance, if you have a calf strain, you should elevate your leg during the rest period with pillows. Combined with ice and compression, you will reduce swelling and help the body heal.
Introduce percussion therapy for faster recovery
Getting help from a physical therapist can be great for faster recovery, but may not be necessary for minor strains. Massage guns have similar benefits to therapy and can be used in the comfort of your home anytime you have an injury, muscle strain, or sore muscles. Let’s take a look at why it’s effective.
What is percussion therapy?
Also known as vibration therapy, this treatment has gained popularity as an effective treatment for muscle strains. This method involves using a massage gun, which delivers rapid, concentrated pulses of deep pressure into the muscle tissue. The BANG MASSAGE GUN is an excellent example of a percussion therapy device that can accelerate recovery from muscle strains.
Using the massage gun helps to increase blood flow, reduce muscle stiffness, and relieve pain (if you don’t want to take medication for pain relief on the first day, you can use the Bang Massage Gun as an alternative). The vibrations penetrate deep into the muscle fibres, breaking up adhesions and scar tissue. By enhancing circulation, it also helps to flush out toxins and reduce inflammation, which are all critical for healing.
One of the key figures in the development of modern percussion therapy is Dr. Jason Wersland, a chiropractor who founded a massage gun company in 2008. After suffering from a severe injury in a motorcycle accident, Dr. Wersland sought a way to relieve his pain and accelerate his recovery. This led him to develop the first prototype of what would become a popular handheld percussion therapy device. His work laid the foundation for the widespread use of such devices in sports medicine and rehabilitation.
Since 2008, massage guns have evolved into sophisticated handheld devices that play a huge role in helping people recover from muscle injuries. These devices have garnered so much attention that their effectiveness has become the topic of recent scientific studies. [3, 4]
Physical therapists are also using massage guns in their practices, showing that handheld devices are not only for the man on the street. In fact, if PTs are using them, it makes a good case for their effectiveness.
Well known YouTubers, Bob and Brad - the most famous physical therapists on the internet, also reviewed the massage gun for its effectiveness. Here’s a summary of what they found.
- The massage gun gets deep into muscle tissue for a really effective massage. Manual therapy cannot achieve the same results because the hands of the therapists get tired. Also, 50% of patients started to prefer the massage gun because of its ability to give a deeper massage and relieve pain.
- A muscle injury creates scar tissue, which causes tightness and difficulty with movement. The scar tissue also causes poor circulation and increased pain. The massage gun effectively breaks up this scar tissue, resulting in faster healing and less pain.
- Tom Brady, a well-known American football quarterback, credits the massage gun for changing his game by helping him recover better and remain more pliable.
Thankfully, you can now own one of these handheld devices because the price has come down considerably over the last five years, making it accessible to anyone who wants one.
Let’s take a closer look at one of Australia’s best-selling massage guns, The Bang Massage Gun.
This massage gun comes in two versions. The BANG™ V1 MASSAGE GUN and the BANG™ PRO MASSAGE GUN.
Both of these high-quality handheld massage guns offer a number of unique attachments to help you apply treatment to the right areas. The standard silicone head can be used for most injuries, and the trick is to start with the lowest speed and work your way up, gently sliding the head over the injured area. If you feel a significant amount of pain, you need to lower the setting because you may cause unintended damage by using a high setting or using the massage gun for too long in the same area.
If you like the idea of having a tool at home that can give you a therapist quality massage anytime that you need it, then this is the perfect product for that.
People who brought The Bang Massage Gun had the following to say:
"After tearing my rotator cuff, I thought I’d live with shoulder pain forever. The Bang Massage Gun changed everything – now, just a 5-minute session makes it feel like I was never injured.” Edwin (verified purchase)
“This unit is truly amazing. The vibration comes with five different intensities, and the size is just right for pinpointing and vibrating to help relax those trigger points on your muscle. My trainer used it on me in a myofascial session after my workout and I was amazed by it. The price is a little bit high, but it drastically increased my recovery time, so I think it was totally worth it.” Bang C (verified purchase)
Don’t pay hundreds of dollars in physical therapist bills; buy your own The Bang Massage Gun - professional-grade recovery for everyone! And we’ll give you 100 days to try it out with our 100-day happiness guarantee.
Day 2 - 5: Add movement, but no stretching
You can begin to add in gentle movement anytime between days 2-5. Anything that qualifies as stretching should be avoided since pulled muscles are already fragile and tissue healing must take place before you overuse the muscle. You can prevent future injury by exercising patience during this time and listening to your body.
Don’t be tempted to immobilize the affected muscle after day one. As soon as muscle stiffness passes enough for you to move the damaged muscle, you should do so. Research has shown that movement brings more oxygen to the muscle tissue, helping you to heal faster. [2]
The range of motion should be pain free. Big movements are not necessary at this stage. Do the smallest movement you can without overextending affected muscles. For example, if you have an injury to your calf muscle, then flexing your foot up and down very slowly a few times will be enough.
Day 5 onwards: Strengthen slowly
When you first injure yourself, your body must repair damaged muscles. This process can take up to 5 days to begin, depending on the severity of the strain. For instance, a major muscle trauma can take 14 days to begin healing. After this time, the body will increase blood flow to the area as well as essential proteins that are needed for the reconstruction of the muscle fibers. [5]
During this healing phase, you’ll need to forget what you were able to do previously. If you could push 100kg, but now you have a torn tricep, you’ll have to forget about returning to this level immediately. Returning to normal activity can injure this pulled muscle further, delaying recovery time - exactly what you don’t want.
Rule of thumb: You decide what you can do according to the discomfort level you have, and during this time use heat and cold therapies to help with inflammation.
Conclusion
Recovering from a muscle strain doesn’t have to be a slow and painful process. By integrating percussion therapy with a high-quality massage gun, like The Bang Massage Gun, into your treatment plan, you can significantly accelerate your recovery. Not only does it help alleviate pain and improve flexibility, but it also enhances blood circulation and breaks down scar tissue, allowing you to heal more efficiently.
While professional physical therapy is invaluable, the convenience of having a therapist-quality tool at home means you can manage and speed up your recovery on your own terms. Say goodbye to extended recovery times and hello to a more agile and pain-free return to your daily activities. With the right tools and techniques, you can take control of your recovery and prevent future injuries—right from the comfort of your home.
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