Back pain: It can strike suddenly or sneak up on you after a long period of wear and tear. Considering it’s the second most common health complaint doctors hear after headaches, back problems are likely to happen to you sometime during your life. (1)
How long until it gets better? That depends on a few things, such as the type of injury and how serious it is, your age, and your activity level. However, if you commit to taking the recommended steps and the time to recover, Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.
What people call a “pulled back muscle” may or may not involve a muscle. If it does, it’s called a strain, which happens when muscles or tendons are stretched or torn. A sprain might also cause that ache in your back; that happens when a ligament—one of the bands of tissue that connects bones, muscles, and sometimes organs in your body—is stretched or torn. (1, 2)
Your spine is very long and has a lot of muscles, tendons, and ligaments attached, so this kind of injury can happen anywhere from your low back to your neck. In the low and mid-back, you can pull a muscle by:
Risk factors for low- and mid-back injury include playing sports that involve pushing and pulling (weight lifting included), having weak abdominal (stomach) or back muscles, having tight hamstrings (the muscles at the backs of your thighs), and being overweight. (1, 3)
Fast or sudden movements cause acute neck injury. If the head moves rapidly forward then backward or to one side, the result might be a neck sprain or strain. Causes include car accidents, hard falls, or collisions during high-contact sports, such as football, hockey, or basketball. (4)
A pulled muscle in the lower back may show up with sharp pain, muscle spasms, stiffness, and limited range of motion. (1, 3) Pain from a pulled neck muscle often peaks a few hours or even a day after the injury and may come with muscle spasms, headache, stiffness, tingling, and even numbness in the arms. (4)
As noted above, it depends on the type of injury and its seriousness. Healthcare providers give a grade to sprains as a measure of severity. Grade 1 means that there is slight stretching in the ligament. Grade 2 means the ligament is torn a little, while Grade 3 means a bigger tear or detachment. (5) Strains follow a similar grading scale, with Grade 3 meaning the muscle is torn so badly you can’t use it. (6)
It comes as no surprise that the higher the grade, the longer it takes to heal. In the case of an injured back muscle, mild (Grade 1) strains and sprains generally stop hurting 1-2 weeks after injury and are completely healed after 4-6 weeks. With severe strains or sprains, you may not feel relief until the tissue is repaired. Repairing torn tissue might require surgery if it’s too damaged to heal on its own. (1, 6)
In mild cases, doctors recommend the RICE method: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Right after the injury, this method can help reduce swelling and pain. (6)
Even if your muscle strain is mild, it’s a good idea to consult with your doctor, who may recommend physical therapy or other treatments. See a doctor if:
Not keen on doing it again? There are ways you can help reduce the risk of another pulled back muscle. (1, 3, 4, 6)
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