What is an Abdominal Muscle Strain?
An abdominal muscle strain is a stretch or tear of a muscle in your stomach and abdomen area. This muscle injury causes the muscle fibers to overstretch and tear. A strain is often alternatively referred to as a “pulled” muscle. There are a variety of activities that could lead to abdominal muscle strains. Abdominal strains are very common in athletes and highly active individuals. BraceAbility provides a variety of binders for abdominal strain treatment. Soreness, spasms, cramps, and pain of your abdominal and back muscles can all be relieved with the use of our muscle wraps.
What are the Symptoms of an Abdominal Muscle Strain?
There are many signs and symptoms that an individual should look out for to detect an abdominal muscle strain. Symptoms of a muscle strain or pulled muscle include:
- Pain in abdomen or back that worsens with movement
- Sudden, uncontrollable muscle spasms or cramping
- Difficulty walking, bending forward or sideways, or standing straight
- Bruising or discoloration of the affected area
- Feeling of muscle weakness or stiffness
What Causes Stomach or Abdominal Muscle Strain and Pain?
Forceful/Excessive Exercise
After a vigorous workout or participating in a sport, you may feel you overdid it and are experiencing muscle pain or strain. This could be anything from a pulled muscle to a muscle tear in different parts of your body, abdomen and back being the most common complaint. Our muscles can only take so much strain until it is unbearable and we need to stop and find somehow to treat the pain. Pulling a muscle can be very painful because it can actually result in tearing your muscle. When the muscle tears it can damage small blood vessels, causing immense pain and possible bruising. A sprain, on the other hand, is an injury to the ligaments which can also be very painful. All of these abdominal and back muscle strains can be treated with our Abdominal Muscle Strain and Pain Braces. Treatment for excessive exercise could be treated by the following:
- Taking it easy for awhile and giving your sore muscles a break, resting for recovery is essential after pulling a muscle in your stomach
- Stretching after a workout/exercise
- Using ice and heat when your muscles feel sore, this will help with the pain
Depending on what area you have hurt there are many braces that we offer for abdominal muscle pain. We offer an abdominal binder wrap that would be great to treat a pulled or strained muscle in the abdominal area, it could also be helpful if you are experiencing muscle pain in your back. If there is more pain in your back we would recommend a back muscle pain heat wrap. This would provide support and compression along with warmth for the back in order to ease the pain.
Lifting Heavy Objects
Lifting heavy objects, whether it be in the gym, quick heavy lifting at home, or performing work duties can cause serious abdominal muscle pain and muscle pain in the back. This abdominal and back pain could be from the transfer of the weight you are carrying to your abdomen and back muscles. In addition, this pain could be the result of poor posture, and bad lifting patterns. This will then cause people to remain doing these poor actions. Treatment for muscle strains caused by lifting heavy objects include the following:
- Give your muscles a rest to ensure a full recovery
- Practice good posture and proper lifting techniques
- Wearing an abdominal or back binder brace when doing heavy lifting
BraceAbility offers a range of products depending on where your muscle pain is located. For recovery we would recommend the back muscle pain wrap, this wrap has heat and compression giving you maximum relief. For other abdominal muscle strain, we recommend a compression abdominal pain wrap.
Persistent Coughing
Persistent coughing is an extremely strenuous activity that can have a damaging effect on the abdominal and chest muscles. People will often experience a muscle strain when they are suffering from an uncontrollable, hacking cough. Treatment for abdominal muscles strains caused by coughing can often be done from home. It’s important to allow your body and muscles to heal properly by:
- Resting
- Avoiding strenuous exercise
- Ice and heat application
- Controlling the intensity of your cough through medications to avoid further muscle strains
Compression and use of heat and ice are recommended to treat a strained muscle in the abdomen and back, especially within the first 24-48 hours to avoid long-term damage to the muscles. Ibuprofen is also recommended to help reduce pain and swelling. BraceAbility offers a variety of compression binders for abdominal strains.
Overweight
Obese or overweight individuals are at higher risk of muscle strains in the abdominal and back areas. Lack of regular exercise can cause the muscles to weaken, therefore making an individual more prone to muscle strains, even from light activity. Additionally, excess weight can put added stress on your abdomen and lower back, causing the muscles to weaken as well. Treatment for muscle strains in overweight individuals include a healthier lifestyle and allowing the muscles to heal:
- Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet to strengthen bones and muscles
- Exercise regularly- be sure to stretch to keep your joints and muscles flexible
- Ice and heat application in affected areas
- Resting the muscles
Depending on the location of your muscle strain, BraceAbility offers a variety of different muscle support belts to treat a strained muscle in both the abdomen and back areas. We offer a back heat wrap, as well as various abdominal compression binders to ease the pain from muscle pain and accelerate the healing process through compression. It is recommended that you look at our selection of plus-size abdominal binders to relieve pain and stress on your abdomen associated with obesity.
Treatment for Abdominal Muscle Pain & Strain
Treatment for muscle strains and pain are easily treated from home by resting your muscles. Engaging in the following activities will allow torn muscles to heal properly:
- Stretching before and after a workout
- Applying ice and heat to your muscles to relieve pain
- Practice good posture and proper lifting techniques
- Maintaining a healthy, well-balanced diet to strengthen bones and muscles
- Resting the muscles and not overworking affected areas
To treat muscle pain, strain, and pulls we recommend the Ab Muscle Brace. This product will help ease the pain with the tight compression and ensure proper healing.
How to Avoid an Abdominal Muscle Strain
Not all muscle strains can be prevented, but you may be able to reduce the risk of abdominal muscle strains by the following:
- Maintain good posture when standing and sitting. Try to avoid staying in one position for a long period of time to decrease stress on your back and abdominal muscles
- Lift heavy objects carefully and properly by bending knees and lifting with your legs. Hold the weight close to your body
- Always stretch and warm up before engaging in physical activity. Also, take the time to stretch after a workout to prevent muscle stiffness
- If you do not currently exercise, start slowly and ease into more rigorous activity
- Understand your body’s limitations and avoid overworking your muscles