You have most likley heard the term sprain and strain used by your healthcare practitioner or doctor while diagnosing an injury. But what do they actually mean? And can the two be used interchangeably?

Well the answer is no, although both terms are describing injury to a part of your body, they are describing an injury to specific tissue within the body.

Let’s start with a STRAIN.

A strain is the injury (stretching or tearing) of muscle tissue. Think hamstring strain or calf strain “I’ve pulled my hammy”. Strains can be relatively low grade, only straining a few fibres or they can be more damaging affecting majority or all of the muscle fibres (these are then called muscle tears).
Think of muscle strains as low grade muscle tears.
A muscle strain is assessed from grade 1 (minimal damage) to grade 3 (complete tear). Healing times are dependent on the grade of muscle strain, activity/fitness levels, sleep habits, rehabilitation and more.

A generalised rule for recovery times that therapists go off is:

Grade one: 1-3 weeks
Grade two: 1-3 months
Grade three: Surgery then 1-3 months of rehab

How about a SPRAIN?

A sprain is the stretching or tearing of tissue in your body called ligaments. Ligaments connect bone to bone and support the skeletal system but cannot contract like a muscle. A common example is to sprain your ankle (think of rolling your ankle).

Common symptoms of a joint sprain is
– Pain
– Swelling
– Bruising
– Limited range of motion in that joint

Healing times for a ligament sprain will take a little longer than a muscle strain due to restricted blood flow to the area but it depends on the same factors, such as the grade of sprain, activity/fitness levels, sleep habits and rehabilitation.

Grade one: 3-5 weeks
Grade two: 4-6 weeks
Grade three: 3-6 months

So there you go, both strain and sprain are describing the stretching and tearing of soft tissue within your body, however a strain is taking about muscle damage and a sprain is talking about ligamentous damage.

Get in touch with us at Morr Movement to see how Osteopathy and Reformer Pilates may be able to assist you with your recovery and get you back to doing what you love asap.

Lindberg, S. (2021) How long does it take for a sprained ankle to heal?, Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/how-long-does-it-take-for-a-sprained-ankle-to-heal#treatment-and-recovery (Accessed: 09 January 2024).