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Since 1979, the Orange County California muscle strain injury lawyers at DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo have been there for their clients who have had pulled, torn, or strained muscles. If you or a loved one has strained a muscle, call us for a free initial consultation to discuss your specific muscle strain injury legal case regardless of whether you strained your muscle while exercising, working, playing sports, or at home.
Time is very important for all injuries because the healing process usually does better if you start treatment right away. That is especially true for muscle strains. Due to this, be sure to see your doctor as soon as possible. Getting yourself the proper help is just as important when it comes to protecting your rights. It is critical that you have experienced injury lawyers on your side from the beginning who can guide you to maximize your potential compensation under the law. Call us any time at (714) 783-2205 as our personal injury and work injury law firm can start helping you today.
The term muscle strain also refers to what one might call a muscle tear and pulled muscle. Muscle strains occur when an excessive amount of force or pressure is directed onto muscles that cause damage or tearing to the muscle fibers and/or surrounding tendons. The sudden overuse of a muscle is painful and it can happen to you while you’re working, playing sports, lifting heavy objects, exercising, or doing daily chores. A very typical example of a muscle strain is an athlete trying to stop too quickly and pulling their hamstring.
To create continuity when describing injuries, doctors developed a grading system for muscle tears and pulls. The injury’s grade is based mainly on how badly the muscle fibers and surrounding tendons have been hurt, stretched or torn. Grade 1 muscle strains actually do not affect the strength or functionality of the muscle as not many muscle fibers have been overstretched and the pain for the injured person is mild.
Grade 2 muscle strains have much more pain associated with them than grade 1. The patient is definitely aware of some muscle strength loss. Bruising, swelling, and tenderness are further symptoms of Grade 2 muscle tears or pulls. The discoloration, pain and swelling symptoms are more severe with Grade 3 injuries as the muscles have fully torn. This causes the muscle not to be able to be used.
It is always advisable to ask for medical help especially when the patient is in pain or discomfort. In the case of the following signs of muscle strain, doctors would recommend that you seek immediate medical help. The first sign to discuss is if you heard a “pop” or “popping” sound when you sustained the injury. This is a definite sign to call your doctor. Also, if there is a high fever, you cannot walk or you have a lot of pain, significant swelling, and/or you have open wounds, it is definitely the right move to call a doctor. In addition, if you make the choice to stay home but your condition is the same or worse after twenty-four hours, you should probably call your advice nurse or doctor for further guidance.
Unfortunately, people strain their muscles every day and they do it in a variety of ways. The following is a list of possible causes for muscle pulls or muscle strains: on-the-job accidents, auto/car accidents, defective products, sports injuries (like tennis, wrestling, football, soccer, etc), weight lifting too quickly or too intensely, walking or running on an uneven surface, slip and fall injuries, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian/crosswalk accidents, construction site accidents, work injuries, and trying to stop your body’s motion too quickly or awkwardly.
Strains and sprains are common terms that are used incorrectly. Strains refer to tears for muscles and their tendons. Sprains refer to injuries that occur to ligaments. Ligaments are the small parts of our body that connect bones to bones.
The most common muscle strains, torn muscles and pulled muscles are: Achilles tendon tear, pulled backs, lower back muscle strain, tearing the rotator cuff, abs (abdominal) muscle strains, calf muscle strain, hamstring muscle strain, quads (quadriceps) muscle strain, leg muscle strain, knee (or plantaris) muscle strain, chest muscle strain, groin pull or muscle strain, bicep muscle strain, and arm muscle strain. The majority of these injuries are common for athletes and a high percentage of people will strain their back muscles during their life.
Pulling a muscle on the job is very easy to do especially since jobs in America are becoming more sedentary by the year. The full day of mostly sitting down contributes to our muscles being tight and not well stretched. Since muscle tears mainly happen when we overstretch our muscles, these are common work injuries. Even office workers can strain their muscles as they try to lift a box full of reams of paper. In fact, muscle strains, pulls and tears occur so often around the country that they are the second most common work injury. The most typical ways people pull their muscles while on the job are: tripping, falling, lifting heavy objects, improperly using farm, construction or factor equipment, and stopping or rotating too quickly. Our work injury law firm has extensive experience with workers’ compensation as well as personal injury cases for muscle strain injuries. The Orange County work injury attorneys of DiMarco | Araujo | Montevideo promise you that they will be there for you during this tough time.
Due to the difficulty in diagnosing how bad the strain is and what the next course of action should be, it is always a good idea to call your doctor after suffering a pulled or strained muscle. Using X-ray machines and other diagnostic devices, your doctor should be able to determine whether or not there was any damage to the surrounding bones and get a better idea of what happened internally. With muscle strains, it is crucial to determine whether the muscle was torn partially or completely as the treatments differ. Surgery is possible for these types of injuries but many muscle strains are just treated with RICE (rest, ice, compression and elevation) and anti-inflammatory medication (but be sure to speak with your doctor).
As any victim of a pulled muscle can tell you, it is a very smart idea to prevent muscle strains for you and your family. The best ways to do this include starting your workout or sport slowly with a warm-up and then stretching, staying in shape, and being mindful to use proper form all the time while running, lifting, turning your body, or playing sports.
Call us today as we have a twenty-four-hour phone line. We can schedule your free initial consultation and case evaluation. During the meeting, you will speak with a personal injury lawyer to discuss your case and your legal options, and answer your questions. We work for all of our clients on a contingency basis where you will not owe or pay us anything unless we do what you hire us to do and win your case.
Our Orange County muscle strain injury lawyers are some of the few around that still come to you as we will meet you at your home or your hospital room if you are unable to come to our office. We are available to meet during the normal hours of Monday through Friday between 8:30 am and 5:30 pm and we will also meet you, by appointment, on Saturdays, Sundays, and in the evening. Contact us online or call us at (714) 783-2205 to schedule your free consultation.