What are fibrillar tears?
Fibrillar ruptures are frequent injuries in sports practice and after some sudden efforts when the person leads a sedentary life. They are also known as muscle tears, since they consist of the rupture of more or less fibers of those that make up the muscle.
Prognosis of fibrillar ruptures
Their severity depends on the muscle and the number of fibers that have been broken (mild, moderate or severe), which will also determine the time needed for recovery (8-10 days, 2-3 weeks or 3-6 weeks, respectively).
Symptoms of fibrillar ruptures
Symptoms are easy to detect:
- Sudden, severe pain.
- Hematoma caused by rupture of adjacent blood vessels.
- In severe cases there may be a blockage of movement due to contraction of adjacent muscles.
- Dizziness.
- Cold sweat.
Medical tests for fibrillar ruptures
The most convenient is to perform an ultrasound in order to assess damage, location, extent, bleeding and hematoma. Once the results are obtained, the doctor will decide if any further test is necessary before establishing a treatment.
What are the causes of fibrillar ruptures?
Fibrillar ruptures are usually caused by an excessive elongation of the muscle, by a very abrupt contraction or by an effort that exceeds its capacity. It most commonly affects the legs as a consequence of explosive gestures and sudden changes in speed, with the most frequently affected muscles being the calf muscles, soleus, hamstrings, adductors and the anterior rectus of the quadriceps.
Although, as already mentioned, it is a frequent injury in sports practice, either due to trauma or to exercise without proper warm-up. However, there are other risk factors that favor fibrillar rupture:
- Sedentary lifestyle: if you do not exercise regularly, the connective tissue of the muscle is weakened, so the fibers can break more easily.
- Poor arterial and venous circulation: less oxygen reaches the muscle, causing it to fatigue more and accumulate lactic acid. All this makes it more prone to rupture.
- Metabolic diseases: the most significant is diabetes.
- Poor nutrition: muscles become weaker and more fragile.
Can they be prevented?
The best way to prevent fibrillar tears is to warm up properly every time you exercise, regardless of the type of exercise.
Treatments for fibrillar tears
The treatment of fibrillar rupture is essentially based on the following aspects:
- Rest: stop practicing sports and walk as little as possible, in order to avoid aggravating the injury with the rupture of more fibers. The use of a compressive bandage is recommended, but one that does not prevent the mobilization of the muscle.
- Local application of cold: it reduces the inflammation and calms the pain. Ice (never directly on the skin) or frozen gel strips are applied for approximately 15 minutes on the painful area.
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: also soothe pain and reduce inflammation.
- Rehabilitation: exercise should not be resumed until the acute pain has completely disappeared. And, in spite of this, it should be started with gentle stretching, always avoiding reaching a point of pain. Stretching should be held for a few seconds and in sets of five, several times a day. It is recommended to apply local heat after each stretching session.
Which specialist treats it?
The specialist in charge of treating fibrillar tears is the traumatologist or sports physician.