Yoga exercises, such as the crescent lunge, can stretch and twist your body into positions it may not be accustomed to. Unfortunately, this can result in painful injuries, such as pulled muscles. A pulled muscle can be extremely painful, interrupting both your yoga routine and any daily activities following your workout. This makes it important to understand how exercise-related pulled muscles can occur and what you can do to treat and prevent them.
Symptoms
A pulled muscle after or while doing a crescent lunge can vary in severity, ranging from a mild ache to severe and debilitating pain. Besides pain, additional symptoms can include bruising, tenderness, warmth, redness, swelling, muscle spasms and limited or complete loss of mobility. Symptoms can come on suddenly during an exercise such as a crescent lunge or not develop until several hours after your routine.
Causes
A pulled muscle occurs when you overextend or tear a muscle during exercise. This can develop if you overuse your muscles without taking proper breaks between workouts, practice improper form, place unnecessary strain on muscles, or move muscles in a prolonged repetitive pattern. In addition, you can pull a muscle if you suddenly change directions or forcefully push your body into a position during exercise.
Treatment
To treat a pulled muscle, stop using the area of your body that hurts. Apply an ice or cold pack to the area of injury to help bring down swelling and pain. If possible, compress the pulled muscle with splint or tightly wrapped elastic bandage, which can also help reduce puffiness. Elevate the injured muscle so that the body part is higher than your heart -- this will drain away fluid and help treat symptoms. If pain does not subside after 24 hours, apply a heating pad to soothe pain.
Prevention
Prevent pulled muscles by warming up with a five-minute walk or aerobic routine prior to your yoga workout. This will help raise the temperature of your muscles, making them stronger, more pliable and less susceptible to injury. In addition, cool down in the same fashion after exercise to help remove exercise metabolic products from your blood stream, which can lead to soreness and injury of the muscles.
