Clinical aspects of muscle injury.

Muscle injuries are a common part of the clinical practice of sports medicine. Due to variations in muscle injury, the clinical presentation may vary from the subclinical to the catastrophic. Muscle injuries may present in four broad categories: acute, chronic, acute exacerbation of a chronic problem, or subclinical alteration. Each muscle injury can be further broken down into five areas: tissue injury, clinical symptoms, functional biomechanical deficit, functional adaptations, and tissue overload. Case studies are presented to illustrate the presentation of each type and analysis of the component parts of the injury. It is only through such analysis that an accurate and complete diagnosis, followed by a functional rehabilitation plan, may be constructed.