Recovering from a Pulled Muscle: A Step-by-Step Guide

A pulled muscle can be very unpleasant. It can cause extreme pain, even when doing the smallest daily tasks. Continue reading to find out how to heal a pulled muscle faster.

Things You'll Need

• Ice
• Ibuprofen
• Elastic bandage

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Instructions

• 1

  Rest your muscle as soon as you pull it. Depending on the severity, you may need up to five days of rest. In most cases, one to three days is plenty of time. Be sure not to rest for too long because this could actually slow down the healing process.

• 2

  Apply ice immediately after you pull a muscle. Ice is important because it helps reduce inflammation. Leave an ice bag on the muscle for 10 minutes and repeat this process every hour. If the cold is unbearable, you can place a towel between you and the ice.

• 3

  Take anti-inflammatory medicine as soon as possible. This will reduce pain as well as inflammation. Take one pill every six hours for the first two days.

• 4

  Keep the pulled muscle elevated as often as possible. For example, if you pull a leg muscle, you should always keep it propped up while sitting down. Elevation will work great in reducing the amount of swelling.

• 5

  Wrap the muscle in an elastic bandage if possible. This will help reduce stress on the muscle. Swelling will also be kept to a minimum if the pulled muscle is tightly wrapped.