Despite having great movement technique or the best training plan, it’s not always possible to avoid injuries, and even a small strain or sprain can sideline you from your gym routine or activities. Knowing what type of injury you have means you’re able to treat it more effectively, and be on the road to recovery that much faster. Here is a helpful guide to strains and sprains, plus tips on how to treat and avoid them in the future.

So what’s the difference?
The difference isn’t what happened to you, but what part of your body it happened to. Both a strain and a sprain involve over-stretching or tearing. A strain is when it happens to a muscle or tendon, and a sprain is when it happens to a ligament.

You’re more likely to experience a strain in your back and legs. These muscles are larger and tend to cross multiple joints, so the tendons receive a lot of stretch and stress. If the muscle or its tendon is already tight or shortened due to poor posture or muscle imbalance, the risk for strains or even tears is much greater. Strains can range from mild to severe, with the severe (when a muscle or tendon is torn-called a severe soft tissue injury) requiring medical intervention.

Ligaments are the fibrous tissues that connect two bones together and strengthen your joints, so sprains are more likely to happen in areas like ankles, knees and wrists. A mild sprain would be a slight stretch with some damage to the fibers, and a severe sprain would be a complete tear to the ligament, making the joint non-functional.

Strains can happen gradually over time or abruptly, especially when muscles or tendons are tight or weak from reconditioning or a past injury. Straining a muscle or a tendon can happen as a result of overuse, overtraining or as a result of moving forcefully and quickly beyond ability or natural strength.

Spraining a ligament happens as a result of a forceful movement that causes extreme stress on a joint, causing a pull or tear to the ligament. Pivoting too quickly at a joint like the knee or ankle (especially when the foot is planted on the ground), or bracing a fall with an outstretched hand can cause a sprain at any of the joints in the surrounding area.   

Signs and symptoms
Both strains and sprains will cause pain, heat and swelling at the site of the injury along with limited ability to move either the joint or use the muscle.  

Strains will often be accompanied by muscle spasms or a “knotted up” feeling with stiffness or weakness in that muscle.  

With sprains you are also likely to see some bruising, and in more serious cases you might hear or feel a pop in the joint.

Self-care treatment tips
With mild or less severe strains and sprains, you’ll want to remember the acronym RICE. Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Modify your activity and limit the use of the affected area until the visual signs of injury are gone. Apply ice (not directly on the skin) for 20 minutes at a time, use compression (such as a compression bandage) to help minimize additional swelling, and elevate the area above your heart while resting. Following 72 hours of RICE, you may find adding heat to a muscle strain helpful to reduce pain, inflammation and tightness as heat will help to promote blood flow to the area. Be sure to reach out to a health professional to see that your choice of treatment is appropriate to the type and severity of your injury.  

More serious strains and sprains may require medical intervention such as physical therapy, immobilization or possibly surgery to support the natural healing process.  

Don’t mess around with strains or sprains. Be sure to train smart, wear appropriate footwear, and try to avoid risky environments. Re-evaluate your training plan and especially your warm-ups and cooldowns to ensure your muscles, tendons and ligaments are taken care of. If you experience either a strain or a sprain, the beginning and the end of your workouts will require some modifications. Go for lower intensity, longer warms-ups and longer, slower recovery and stretching along with facial release.