The key difference between pulled and torn quad muscle is that a pulled muscle is a muscle strain that takes place in any muscle, while a torn quad muscle is an injury that takes place in the quadriceps.
A muscle is a contractile tissue that coordinates systems for greater efficiency. Skeletal muscle is one of the three main muscle tissues in the human body, and each skeletal muscle consists of muscle fibers wrapped by connective tissues. Muscle injuries or strains result in very small or microscopic tears in muscle fibers. Muscle strains and muscle tears are two main skeletal muscle injuries. Muscle strains are caused due to overstretching, overusing, or misusing of muscles. Muscle tearing is a larger injury in which the muscle and vessels that supply blood to it are torn.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Pulled Muscle
3. What is a Torn Quad Muscle
4. Similarities – Pulled and Torn Quad Muscle
5. Pulled vs Torn Quad Muscle in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Pulled vs Torn Quad Muscle
What is a Pulled Muscle?
A pulled muscle, which is also known as a muscle strain, occurs when a muscle or tendon is torn or overstretched. They affect people of all ages and occur without warning. Pulled muscle range may vary in severity. This condition is common in the shoulders, neck, lower back, and hamstrings. Symptoms of a pulled muscle are swelling and redness where the injury takes place, muscle weakness, difficulty in using the injured muscle, and sudden pain in the muscle when used or at rest.
Pulled muscles happen when lifting a heavy object, lifting objects improperly, overusing muscles, having poor posture, and not warming up or stretching during a workout. When a pulled muscle is diagnosed, doctors usually suggest at-home treatments; however, severe conditions are treated with anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxers, and physiotherapy. The recommended at-home treatment includes resting the muscle for a few days, applying ice to the injury every 20 minutes to reduce inflammation, wrapping up the muscle with a bandage to apply compression and reduce swelling, elevating the injured muscle, using a heating pad a few times a day, and using medication such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications.
What is a Torn Quad Muscle?
Torn quad muscle or quadriceps tear is an acute tearing injury that occurs in the quadriceps. There are three types of torn quad muscles, and they are classified as grade I, grade II, and grade III. Grade I types are mild injuries that affect a limited amount of muscle fibers. Grade II are moderate injuries that affect almost half of the muscle fibers. Grade III injuries are where the muscle fibers are completely damaged. Mild and moderate injuries are usually caused due to a single traumatic situation with dynamic and high-collision nature. Chronic injuries typically occur over a long period of time.
Torn quad muscles usually occur due to overstretching of muscles, certain sports, fatigued muscles, and not warming up or stretching during workouts. Weak quadriceps tend to tear faster, and this risk is increased during tendinitis in quad muscles, using steroids, being sedentary over a long period, and the presence of chronic diseases that disrupt the blood flow. Symptoms of torn quad muscles are swelling of the injury site, pain in the muscle, bruising, cramping, and difficulty in using muscles. Management and treatment of quadricep injuries depend on the type and site of injury. Mild injuries usually heal with rest and applying of ice and a heating pad. Severe cases require medical treatment, sometimes even require surgery.
What are the Similarities Between Pulled and Torn Quad Muscles?
- Pulled and torn quad muscles occur due to the tearing of muscles.
- They have common symptoms such as swelling, pain, bruising, and difficulty in using muscles.
- Common causes are overstretching of muscles and not warming up or stretching during workouts.
- Both have common at-home treatments, such as resting and applying ice and heating pads.
What is the Difference Between Pulled and Torn Quad Muscles?
A pulled muscle is a muscle strain that takes place in any muscle, while a torn quad muscle is an injury that takes place in the quadriceps. Thus, this is the key difference between pulled and torn quad muscles. The main sites for a pulled quad injury are the shoulder, neck, lower back, and hamstring, while torn quad muscle injury mainly takes place in the quadriceps. Moreover, a pulled muscle is a mild condition that is usually treated with at-home treatments. Torn quad muscles usually are mild, moderate, and severe conditions leading to serious medications and even surgery.
The below infographic presents the differences between pulled and torn quad muscles in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Pulled vs Torn Quad Muscles
Pulled muscles and torn quad muscles are two conditions that take place in muscles. A pulled muscle is a muscle strain that takes place in any muscle, while a torn quad muscle is an injury that takes place in the quadriceps. A pulled muscle or muscle strain occurs when a muscle or tendon is torn or overstretched. It usually occurs in the neck, shoulders, lower back, and hamstrings. Such conditions are usually not serious. A torn quad muscle or quadriceps tear is an acute tearing injury that occurs in the quadriceps. This condition specifically takes place in the quad muscles, and it is an acute injury that requires serious medical attention. So, this is the difference between pulled and torn quad muscles.
Reference:
1. “Quadricep Tear or Strain.” Bon Secours.
2. “The Best Ways To Recover From A Pulled Muscle.” Piedmont Healthcare.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Pulled Hamstring” By BruceBlaus – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Lower back pain” By Injurymap – editInjuryMap – Free Human Anatomy Images and Pictures. Retrieved on 2019-08-10. (CC BY 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia