If you sustain an injury that you suspect is a minor muscle strain, the best approach to encourage healing is mild stretching coupled with ice a minimum of three times a day for 15 minutes each. Opposite to what used to be the rule of thumb, “no pain, no gain”, you should actually refrain from doing any exercise of activity that causes pain, as this is an indicator that you are doing further damage. Make some modifications so that you are still moving and encouraging blood flow, but don’t do anything that causes pain. If your pain doesn’t get noticeable better in a couple days or you are concerned that you may have done serious damage, by all means go see your doctor for a professional opinion.
Melissa Allen, BS, CPT, CES. Please visit my website at OptimumCondition.org.
