So you pulled a muscle? If you’ve ever been in this situation, you know how very inconvenient and painful it can be! Today I want to provide you with some simple practices that will have you feeling like yourself again in no time! Take a look, and message me if you need help addressing an issue! As always, I am happy to help!

1) Ice or Heat the injury for 20 minutes 3-4 times a day. In order to heal the injury in a timely fashion, you must increase blood flow to the injury site. The act of icing and heating each cause blood to collect at the injury site, increasing healing time.

2) Do not stretch the injury- Stretching a pulled or torn muscle will can prolong the injury because you are not allowing the muscle fibers at the injury site to re-attach. Ice and heat only, no stretching.

3) Rest the injured muscle- If you keep exercising, chances are the injury will continue to hurt, and you could possibly make the injury worse. The smart approach is to avoid working the specific body part that is injured and play it safe.

4) Get 8 hours of sleep- Your body is more effective in healing injuries while you sleep. While you are sleeping your body isn’t overwhelmed with many tasks, which makes it a lot easier for it to put energy into healing the wound, also your odds of aggravating the injury tend to lessen while sleeping.

5) Clean up your nutrition– Healthful foods help reduce inflammation and thus give your body more ability to heal the injury and get you back to normal. Not a bad exchange!