Muscle strain and injury can impact your quality of life, especially when it involves muscles involved in so many everyday tasks such as the pectoral muscle. Recovery from injury is relatively fast with muscles, as opposed to tendons or ligaments, because they are highly vascularized. This means that muscle tissue contains more blood vessels to aid the recovery process. Your doctor will provide customized guideline for your physical therapy, which will include several components including restrictions, aerobic exercise and strength training.
Causes of Injury
Several causes can result in a bruised pectoral muscle. You may have exercised improperly or with too much weight. You may have been injured as a result of participation in contact sports. Your muscles may also become bruised following chest surgery. Whatever the cause, your body will initiate the healing process through inflammation. Specialized cells will remove the dead muscle fibers. You may experience swelling and redness at the site of the injury. It may also feel painful and hot to the touch. The discoloration is caused by bleeding under the skin.
Beginning Therapy
Your physical therapy will begin with activity restrictions. Your active sessions will not begin until after the inflammatory response has subsided. This initial wait is vital to prevent further injury or permanent damage. Any activities that can aggravate the affected site must be avoided. You may not be able to pull clothes over your head or scratch your back. Your doctor will likely also impose weight restrictions for objects you can lift. You may also be restricted from driving due to the rotating movements you may make.
Aerobic Exercise
For your part, you should listen to your body. A bruised pectoral muscle can affect many everyday movements which can make your road to recovery quite frustrating. Your physical therapy will include light aerobic activity such as walking on a treadmill. Exercise speeds the healing process by promoting increasing circulation. Doing so will help the body remove debris at the injury site and deliver oxygen and fuel for cells which are involved in wound healing. Your therapist may recommend a daily schedule of exercise.
Strength Training
Depending upon the extent of your injury, it may be several days or weeks before you begin strength training. Your therapy will likely begin with light weights to gradually build up strength. The pain you may feel because of your injury will likely impact how you use your muscles. Over time, the muscle may weaken and atrophy due to the lack of exercise. This is why it is essential to begin slowly. Fortunately, your muscle cells retain a memory of your past strength which can aid the recovery of your bruised pectoral muscle. This is especially so if you have done weightlifting in the past, according to a 2009 study by the University of Oslo in Norway. With time, you will resume your normal activities.
References
- "Principles of Anatomy and Physiology"; G. Tortora, et al.; 2005
- New York University: From Pain to Performance
- Gateway Community College: Anterior Trunk and Arm
- "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences"; Myonuclei Acquired by Overload Exercise Precede Hypertrophy and Are not Lost on Detraining; J. Bruusgaard, et al.; August 2010
