Tapping - A Healing Technique + Tips on Muscle Injury

A friend said I should try this for my back pain caused by tearing a muscle while moving furniture. Well, I'll probably just use ice and anti-inflammatory foods, but the video may be useful for other things.



Tips for muscle damage:

The First 72 Hours

As soon as you injure a muscle, stop exercising. Begin treatment immediately and see your physician for an accurate diagnosis of the severity of your injury. Continuing to exercise will increase bleeding and damage, making recovery more difficult. The sooner you stop exercising, the less pressure and bleeding will occur at the site of the injury.

Immediately apply ice to the injured area for 20 minutes. This will further decrease the blood flow to the damaged muscle. Do not apply heat or massage the muscle. Heat will increase blood flow to the area, further damaging the muscle. Massage causes additional trauma and interferes with the healing process.

Wrap the injured area with an Ace bandage for support and compression. Keep it elevated at a level above your heart. Sleep with the injured limb elevated on a pillow.

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After 72 Hours

Maintain support and protection with the Ace bandage. Continue to apply ice for 15 minutes at a time three or four times a day. After three days, you can begin alternating ice with heat treatments.

The injury will heal with scar tissue, which is not as flexible as muscle and doesn't perform as well. Scar tissue in the middle of the muscle may predispose you to reinjury and potentially leave the muscle weaker than it was before the injury.

A previously injured muscle is more likely to tear again, particularly if it was not fully rehabilitated. Physical therapy is very important to help you strengthen a damaged muscle. Special machines can measure the progress of your muscular strength, so you can know when it is safe to return to activity. A monitored program also can help you return to full strength so that reinjury will be less likely to occur.

Be especially careful during the rehab period to get your muscular strength, flexibility, and biomechanics back in balance. During this time you may be more likely to suffer a secondary injury, hurting yourself in another area.

- sportsdoctor.com