Linda Eckerson, family nurse practitioner at McLaren Greater Lansing's DeWitt Family Medicine, has been seeing a lot of cases of muscle strain, including sprains and torn muscles.
--Swelling, bruising and/or redness over the muscle
--Pain in the muscle
--Weakness of the muscle or tendons
--Being unable to use the muscle
To treat a sprain or strain, apply ice first and then apply heat after the swelling goes down. Take aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen.
Use the PRICE treatment:
--Protect from further injury
--Compress with elastic bandage (not too tightly)
--Elevate whenever possible
See a doctor if at-home treatment doesn't bring significant relief within 24 hours.
Go to the emergency room if, when the injury happens, you can't walk or move the extremity, have significant pain or swelling, or have open cuts.
You can avoid muscle strain by stretching daily and warming up before strenuous activities.