Your muscles heal very differently than your bones. If you fracture a bone, as long as it is set and fixed in place properly, it will tend to heal so thoroughly that it will become stronger than it was before the fracture!

 

Leo, for example, breaks his leg and strains (pulls) several muscles in a skiing accident. The fractured bone is set; his leg is placed in a cast and after the requisite amount of time the cast is removed. It's as good new, or even better! Well, at least the bone is...

 

Muscular Injuries can cause severe pain and impairment, but are often poorly diagnosed and inadequately managed.

 

The standard medical response to muscular injuries is still mostly pain-killers, anti-inflammatory drugs and rest. The symptoms are effectively reduced, but these are the symptoms of the injury -- not the injury itself.

 

Muscle tissue needs a certain amount of movement as it heals and will begin to atrophy (shrink) if not used. 

 

Unfortunately, for Leo, the casting and immobilization of his leg, which was crucial for the proper healing of the bone, was not exactly what his injured muscles needed. Now over a year has passed, including several months of vigorous physical therapy sessions. X-rays show that the bone has completely healed and there are no other complications. Leo, however, notices that although his injured leg seems to be just as strong as it was before the accident, it is nowhere near as flexible, and he finds himself in pain whenever he runs or cycles, two activities he was able to perform painlessly before the skiing accident.