Highlights & Basics
- Muscle injuries occur from either direct or indirect trauma.
- Predisposing factors include type of muscle architecture (i.e., pennate muscle, type II fast twitch muscle fibers, muscle-tendon units that span 2 joints), previous injury, and inadequate warm-up before exercise.
- Eccentric contraction (i.e., muscle contraction associated with forcible lengthening of the contracting muscle, such as when lowering a weight or pitching a ball) causes more frequent injury.
- History and physical exam are key in diagnosis and grading of the injury as grade 1 (mild), 2 (moderate), or 3 (severe with complete rupture).
- Conservative treatment is all that is required for most patients with grade 1 or 2 injuries.
Quick Reference
History & Exam
Key Factors
Other Factors
Diagnostics Tests
Treatment Options
Definition
Epidemiology
Etiology
Pathophysiology
Citations
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