Like we discussed earlier strains are more likely to reappear in those with previous strains. Thus, it is important to do a few things to prevent another strain.

Improving mobility and flexibility is a major factor. This work should be integrated into your warmup and your cooldown. Add in some soft tissue work such as foam rolling, and self massage. Do dynamic and static stretches when appropriate. Add in mobility work.

The second is to make the muscle more resistant to damage. As you know, eccentric movement is when the majority of damage occurs during exercise. However, the muscles themselves gain a resistance to the damage with repetitive eccentric work. The model by which this occurs is the “popping sarcomere theory” (which you may google if you want more information).

To sum it up, during eccentric exercise individual sarcomeres distend during the lengthening of the muscle which accrues as damage (excess sarcomeric distension in a localized area is a strain). The body responds to this micro damage by adding additional sarcomeres to the muscle during inflammatory phase healing process (as well as changing some other factors). Subsequently, the muscle becomes more resistant to damage because of its ability to take damage.

This means that the major aspect of prehabilitative work should focus on eccentric exercise which we already described in the previous section. This is especially true with explosive movements. Thus, for a sprinter with a hamstring or groin strain we want to focus on eccentric hamstring curls, and then progress in our prehabilitative work to a 5-10 second count eccentric on the eccentric portion of lifts such as deadlifts, good mornings, hyperextensions, etc. As we stated earlier, do not be too aggressive with the weight and be careful to maintain strict technique.

Conclusion
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All in all strains are not that complicated to deal with if they are grade I or low grade II. Higher grade II should be treated exactly like these except the acute, repair and remodeling phases will take much longer. Grade III tears you should discuss with a qualified medical professional.

The hard part is making yourself take care of your body through the protocols mentioned above. Be disciplined. Do not take your body for granted. Think of it as a learning experience that you care not repeat. Do proper mobility, prehabilitative, rehabilitative work, and focus on your technique.

All of the things I have stated in this article area critical for speeding the healing processes. However, there are natural limits to your healing – it is going to take some time if you strained yourself bad enough. Of course, healing can be improved by sleeping more, eating quality foods, etc. as well as the RICE, massage, fish oil, etc. Be sure to take care of your body, and it will respond in kind.

I hope that this article was informative.

Good luck with your prehabilitative and rehabilitative efforts.