Muscle tissue stretches and tears during a back muscle strain, causing injury and pain. The muscle tear itself can be mild and microscopic or fully ruptured, depending on the nature of the accident. The back pain scale likewise runs from moderate to severe.
Symptoms of a torn muscle may develop after an accidental fall or blow, or during sports or strenuous work activities. Those that might involve the back muscles include basketball and tennis, or heavy lifting and yard work.
Heat
Inflammation is the body's immediate natural response to a muscle tear. Increased blood flow to the damaged tissue will make the area above it warm to the touch, and there may be redness. According to the NYU Langone Medical Center, bruises may also accompany heat and redness when extreme ruptures bleed internally.
Swelling
Swelling, another symptom of inflammation, may be a source of back pain. Fluid accumulation in the tissue surrounding a torn muscle causes the pressure, puffiness and tenderness beneath the skin that indicate swelling. Swelling develops just after an acute injury. NYU Medical Center notes that swelling from an isolated tear will be localized.
Back Pain
The onset of back pain symptoms help patients distinguish between acute and chronic injuries, as the NYU Medical Center reports. A sudden strain is followed by immediate pain that accompanies signs of inflammation, while pain from chronic overuse of the muscles may either have a similar trigger or build gradually. Severe injury that causes spasms may elicit a burning pain. Moderate flare-ups of soreness or stiffness may occur from chronic muscle tears that suffer reinjury.
Spasms
A strong, acute muscle tear may send the surrounding muscular tissue into spasm, or involuntary contraction. This temporary condition can be painful, but is another of the body's coping mechanisms following injury. The Maryland Spine Center relates that spasms will fade when the blood vessels that feed them return to normal function.
Weakness
The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons notes that a torn muscle's fibers are stretched, sometimes to the breaking point. This makes them less effective, and weakness in the area is the result.
Inability to Stand
Incapacitation is the most severe symptom of a torn muscle on the AAOS list. When fibers in the muscle tissue are severed or stretched beyond their functional capacity, the back muscles don't interact properly with the rest of the musculoskeletal system, and the body is unable to lift and carry its own weight.
