Few injuries are as annoying as fiber breakage , and although there are different degrees, a fibrillar tear is a painful injury that will disable you from playing sports for a few weeks at best.
The pain after a fiber break begins with the typical sensation of “stone” in the affected muscle, which causes you to drop the weight, throw the bike to the ground or stop running and begin to limp. But although the pain begins at that moment, the causes of fiber breakage must be looked for long ago , when the causes of said injury have been created.
What are the causes of fiber breakage?
There are 4 main causes why a fibrillar tear occurs:
- The least common of all of them is produced by a strong contusion in the muscle that causes a break in the fibers of this.
- Not having warmed up and starting an exercise with intensity when cold causes the muscle not to have much flexibility and when requesting the effort they end up breaking fibers.
- Excessive training is also one of the causes of fiber breakage. If you do a 5-hour bike ride, run 2 hours or start lifting weights without being properly prepared, the risk of suffering a fiber break increases.
- Continued muscle fatigue inevitably leads to this injury. Do not confuse continued fatigue with the previous cause. Continued fatigue means not only overtraining one day, but doing it routinely and not giving your muscles adequate rest . If they do not recover properly, they become weaker and this injury may end up appearing.
Is a fiber breakage serious?
If you have just broken due to any of the above causes, you may be wondering if your injury is serious.
The severity of a fiber break is divided into degrees , and these are as follows:
- Grade I: This is the mildest grade, and the fiber breakage is millimeters. Recovery time ranges from 1 week to 10 days.
- Grade II: In this grade, the break is greater and immediately after suffering it makes it impossible to continue practicing sports. A hematoma appears in the vast majority of cases and its recovery period is estimated to be 3 to 4 weeks.
- Grade III : If you have been diagnosed with a grade III fiber break, you have a recovery period of 1 to 3 months. You need so much recovery because you’ve suffered a complete muscle tear.
As you read, a fiber break can have you stopped from 1 week to 3 months , depending on the severity of it.
How to avoid a fibrillar tear?
To avoid fiber breakage, it is important to take the following into account:
- You have to work all the muscles progressively and also strengthening the antagonist muscles . If there is some type of imbalance, it is more likely to suffer this injury.
- Warming up is essential , regardless of the sport you practice. Do joint mobility exercises and in the case of lifting weights, start with a light weight.
- Rest at least 1-2 times a week , especially the days after your toughest workout. At that time is when the body heals the micro-tears suffered in the muscle and makes it grow.
- Eat well all week, as the muscle needs nutrients to grow and not weaken . Protein consumption should be consistent with the sport practiced, being higher in the case of weight lifters and sprinters, and lower in endurance sports such as running or road cycling.
