Soft tissue injuries can occur to muscles, tendons, ligaments and cartilage.

A Muscle is made up of thousands of individual fibre strands and each muscle end attaches to the skeletal frame using tendons. Ligaments on the other hand allow bones to attach to bones whilst cartilage prevents bone rubbing on bone.

When we train at a great intensity our muscle fibres will tear. They need to do this to get stronger as when the fibres knit back together they will be superior.  

Ice the injury – place ice in a bag or towel rather than directly against the skin (as you can receive ice burns) for up to 10 mins but ensure you keep an eye on the skin.

If you can continue your activity without too much discomfort then it is more than likely to be a Grade 1 tear. The damage is as follows

Muscle:– Likely to be a few muscle fibres – up to 20%. Rest the muscle for 24 – 48 hours, then stretch and test the muscle strength to ensure no further damage can occur. If it as a result of training then check to see if a majority of the soreness/stiffness is gone before overloading the muscle group again.

Ligament & Tendon – The rest period is slightly longer. Allow up to 3 days but do non weight bearing gentle movements otherwise the joint can rapidly lose mobility. If the joint still feels unsupported or weak just continue but if this goes on for longer than 10 days it is more than likely a Grade 2 injury.

Cartilage – We all get a certain amount of wear and tear. If you damage the cartilage and the pain does not subside after 3 days then visit your Doctor who can arrange a scan of the damaged area.

If you can not continue your activity without pain but still have reasonable mobility then it is more than likely to be a Grade 2 tear. The damage is as follows

Muscle:– Likely to be a few more muscle fibres – up to 60%. Rest the muscle for 3 days, then start to do some gentle mobility exercises – non weight bearing. Seek out a Fitness Resources or Soft Muscle Tissue expert as they will be able to find out the cause and fix it for you. This injury can take up to 6-8 weeks until strong again. For the first few weeks during rehabiliatation you can do non weight bearing exercises such as cycling or swimming to maintain your general fitness. Then under guidance start to increase the amount of weight bearing exercises and intensity.

Ligament & Tendon – The rest period is slightly longer. Allow up to 3 days for the injury to settle and the swelling to subside. Seek out treatment from a Sports Physio or Therapist as the blood supply is poor these need a little help to restore the damage.

This will be a severe injury and likely to need surgery as the Ligaments, Tendons or Cartilage have partially or completely come away from the bone due to the severe pressure on the injured site.

Muscle/Tendon:– If the muscle has been placed under severe pressure the likelihood of tendon damage is extremely high. This is a long term injury and will need to be looked at as quickly as possible so treatment can start. If the tendon has come away from the bone then an operation is needed to re-attach or create the tendon. There will be a lot of swelling and more than likely the muscle will be in spasm so medical attention is needed urgently. A cast is likely to keep the injury well protected. Once the tendon is strong then the muscle can start to work again but bear in mind that it will be greatly weakened by the time this occurs. 

Ligament – This is also a long term injury and if the ligament has been badly damaged an operation is likely to either reconnect or repair the damage.