Strain (injury)

Strain
Other names	Muscle strain, pulled muscle, torn muscle
Two images of the same strain to the hamstring and associated bruising. One of the pictures was shot through a mirror.
Specialty	Emergency medicine
Symptoms	Bruise, swelling, redness and soreness
Causes	Excessive stress and/or repeated injury on a muscle

A strain is an acute or chronic soft tissue injury that occurs to a muscle, tendon, or both. The equivalent injury to a ligament is a sprain.^[1] Generally, the muscle or tendon overstretches and partially tears, under more physical stress than it can withstand, often from a sudden increase in duration, intensity, or frequency of an activity. Strains most commonly occur in the foot, leg, or back. Immediate treatment typically used to include four steps abbreviated as R.I.C.E. (rest, ice, compression, elevation) before the role of inflammation was found to be helpful.