Muscles are biological powerhouses, capable of truly incredible feats. You only need to look at the world’s strongest man, , to see what they can accomplish.
Author
Dan Baumgardt
Senior Lecturer, School of Physiology, Pharmacology and Neuroscience, University of Bristol
While our muscles are capable of performing monumental tasks, asking them to do this can raise the risk of them tearing. Watch any episode of , and you’ll see what I mean.
But it isn’t just strongmen and powerlifters who may experience this problem. Even the average person can be at risk of a muscle tear, from playing sport or simple day-to-day habits – though some muscles are more prone to injury than others.
Upper limb
Our is a muscle of twos. The name itself refers to it being the “two-headed” muscle of the arm – one head is long, the other short.
The bicep is an important muscle in flexing the forearm at the elbow, as anyone who spends their time at the gym can tell you. But this isn’t its only role. Biceps also makes it possible to so that we can perform a range of simple tasks – such as holding a bowl of soup in our palms.
The narrow tendon of the long biceps head makes it the easiest part to tear. In elderly people, a tear can without much force. This is because . Even something as simple as pulling up a stubborn root vegetable in the garden can cause a tear.
When the long biceps head tears, the arm can feel like it . What is most noticeable afterwards is the odd appearance – a bulge in the that makes it look like it belongs to Popeye. This injury is even called a “Popeye deformity”.
A biceps tear won’t heal by itself, so in young patients and athletes, surgery will be required. Luckily, since the short head remains intact to shoulder the burden, surgery is not often needed in elderly patients.
Other muscles that may tear from too much strain are the , or pecs – the chest’s largest muscles. These muscles are capable of many different actions, such as flexing the arms and bringing them together. The pecs make a possible, making it an ideal exercise to train them.
Many fitness enthusiasts want strong and prominent pecs, and may make the mistake of loading up . Doing so puts the muscle under huge stress.
If this muscle tears, you won’t miss it. There will be an obvious bulge as well as afterwards. Surgery will be required to reattach it.
Lower limb
The hamstrings are damaged groups of lower limb muscles. The are located at the back of the thigh and help to bend the knee, while also extending the hips.
Hamstring tears are often caused by overstretching, particularly when the knee is straightened and the hip flexed out in front – like when a rugby player , or in .
For the average person, hamstring injuries typically happen when running – particularly as the front leg swings through. It may also happen while performing lunges, or leaping. Acute pain in the back of the thigh is noted. If this muscle tears, the loss of power in the leg will make walking difficult.
Sports such as squash or tennis, where you constantly change direction, can put other leg structures at risk of tearing. This is due to pushing forcefully off the ground to break into a run.
A common injury in these sports is rupture of the . This is no mean feat – it’s the thickest tendon in the body, attaching your calf muscles to your heel.
, again a distinct pop in your calf is noted – sometimes like someone has kicked you. In most instances there’s pain. You’ll also experience difficulty in walking and be unable to stand on tiptoe – which is the calf’s main function.
Sometime Achilles tears are managed surgically, but in other cases the leg and foot are placed in a cast or rigid boot so that the tendon can repair itself.
How to prevent muscle tears
Taking care of your muscles and tendons during exercise is important. You should especially take care when lifting weights and use correct form. It’s important to , and instead add on weight slowly according to your ability.
Take five to ten minutes at the start and end of each workout to and the muscles you’ve exercised. A mixture of gentle and exercises appears to be best. Interestingly, the appears unclear.
If you’re experiencing pain, don’t ignore it. This is your body saying something is wrong.
Certain factors can also increase risk of muscle tears. Tendons tend to wear thinner when taking certain medications – such as (an antibiotic), as well as steroids used for instance to treat asthma and inflammatory bowel disease. taken against medical advice to enhance muscle mass can actually increase risk of muscles tearing.
Repairing a muscle or tendon is possible, but it’s much easier to safeguard them so they don’t tear in the first place. Warm them up, cool them down – and pay attention to how, and how much, you lift.
Dan Baumgardt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
