The body is made up of hundreds of individual muscles. Each one contains numerous fibers that house mechanisms that allow the muscles to move and contract. Severe trauma to the muscles damages these fibers and impedes their ability to contract. Any type of unnatural or stressful movement may cause trauma to any muscle in the body, including the muscles in the head, but when you are weight lifting, you are much more likely to strain a muscle in the rest of your body.
Definition
According to the Mayo Clinic, a strain is a stretching or tearing of a muscle or tendon. The tendon is a fibrous cord of tissue that anchors the muscle to the bone. There is a subtle difference between a strain and a sprain, which is a stretch or tear in the ligaments, the tough bands of fibrous tissue that connect one bone to the other in your joints. In the head, the muscles are relatively thin and devoted mostly to the movement of the face. However, muscles called the trapezius in the neck and back are a large group that allows the entire head to move.
Symptoms
A strain most commonly occurs in the lower back and the hamstring muscle in the thigh, but it can happen almost anywhere. However, strains in the head are rare due to the sparseness of the muscles. Signs and symptoms will present themselves as cramping and fatigue of the muscles, pain associated with motion or stretching, muscle spasms, swelling, loss of strength, calcification of the muscles or tendons, inflammation of the tendon sheath or discoloration.
Causes
The risk of a strain is increased with any physical activity that requires constant gripping. This can occur due to protracted overuse or a single violent injury caused by force. However, in order to become injured, the muscle or tendon must bear the force of a heavy weight during the act of weight lifting, especially if this occurs in an awkward position. Because this does not occur with the head, it is therefore generally rare to strain something in that area.
Considerations
It is true that a strain can occur in the neck, inhibiting movements such as a flexion from chin to chest, extension from eyes to ceiling, rotation and a lateral flexion from ear to shoulder, but this typically requires a whiplash movement or some kind of force placed upon the neck. However, the trapezius muscles, which extend all the way up to the back of the head, can become strained by repetitive contractions or an unnatural movement incurred by the shoulders or upper back. The crossover fly is one exercise that makes use of the trapezius and may result in a strain.
Types
A strain to the trapezius muscles can cause stiffness in the neck and affect your ability to move the head. There are three different types to describe the severity of the strain. A mild first degree strain is a slightly pulled muscle without tearing of the muscle or tendon fibers. There is no loss of strength; the injury will heal in two to 10 days, and convalescence can be expedited with rest and ice. A moderate second- degree strain is a tear of the fibers in the muscles, tendons or at the attachment to the bone. Strength is diminished; 10 days to six weeks is required to heal. A severe third-degree strain is a rupture of the muscle-tendon-bone attachment with the separation of fibers. Surgical repair is required, and convalescence will take six to 10 weeks, perhaps more if there are complications due to a repeat injury.
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