6 Ways to Get Fast Relief for a Pulled Back Muscle

You bend over to take out the trash, and boom. You feel a sudden pain and spasm in your back. You’ve likely pulled a back muscle, and you may be hobbling around for a few days.  

Pulled muscles usually happen when you push your muscles too hard — or stretch them too far — during a certain activity or exercise. 

While most pulled back muscles can heal on their own with some rest, there are things you can do to help manage your pain and speed up your recovery.

What is a pulled back muscle?

A pulled back muscle, also known as a muscle strain, is when the muscles in your back become overstretched or torn. It’s one of the most common causes of low back pain. 

Your lower back, in particular, is susceptible to pulls because it’s involved in twisting, bending, and pretty much all your movement. It’s common to pull a muscle while exercising or playing a sport like tennis. But it can also happen when you lift something that’s too heavy, twist your back in an awkward way, or trip off a curb.

Depending on how bad you pull your muscle, it can cause damage that ranges from injuring just a few of your tiny muscle fibers to a full muscle tear. 

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Symptoms of a pulled muscle may include:

• Aching pain

• Muscle spasm  

• Weakness in the pulled muscle

• Swelling

• Bruising

Treating a pulled back muscle

Pulled muscles generally heal on their own with home remedies. Most mild muscle strains will start to feel better within 1 to 2 weeks. But if your muscles are spasming or the tears are more severe, you may need to see a healthcare professional for treatment. 

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Here are six treatments that can help speed your recovery. 

1. Rest

It’s important to rest right after you pull a muscle to avoid further muscle injury. Rest in this case means not moving around too much and not doing anything that causes more pain. It doesn’t necessarily mean lying down in bed, though you can do this temporarily if it relieves the pain. 

Too much bed rest can cause your core muscles to become weak and stiff, which may end up making your recovery longer. 

You may want to limit your movement for a day or so, depending on how severe the pulled muscle is. 

When you start to move around, try to avoid movements, like bending or twisting, that make your pain worse. As the pain goes away, you can slowly get back to your normal activities. 

2. Ice and heat

Both heat and ice can help reduce pain and inflammation. But each is better at different points in your recovery. 

Ice packs

• Use ice in the first 48 hours after you pull your muscle. Ice helps slow pain signals and calms your body’s inflammatory response. 

• Put ice on your pulled muscle for 15 minutes, several times a day in the first 2 days. 

• Be sure to wrap your ice pack in a towel first to avoid cold injury to your skin.

Heat packs

• Once the initial swelling has improved, switch to heat packs or a heating pad. 

• Heat can improve blood flow to the area to support healing. This can also ease pain by decreasing stiffness and may help with a spasm.

• Keep heat on for 15 minutes, several times a day.

3. Lumbar support

Some people may want to try using a lumbar support belt, which helps provide stability to the muscles supporting the back. There’s limited research, though, on how much this helps a pulled back muscle. One study found that using a lumbar support belt reduced some pain and improved function for those with short-term low back pain.

4. Pain medication

After a muscle pull, you can help control the pain and inflammation with over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers. These include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen (Motrin, Aleve) as well as acetaminophen (Tylenol). 

If you’re having intense muscle spasms, you may want to see a healthcare professional. They can prescribe muscle relaxants, which may help ease pain from muscle spasm.

5. Physical therapy

Physical therapy may be helpful if you have a painful back spasm. They can use different therapies to help relax the spasm. It can also help prevent muscle pulls in the future by teaching you stretching and strengthening exercises. Physical therapists may use different treatments including:

• Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for pain relief

• Therapeutic ultrasound to support healing

• Massage to reduce pain and minimize muscle spasms

• Dry needling for pain

6. Stretching and strengthening exercises

Stretching and strengthening exercises can help you recover from a muscle strain. They’re also important for keeping your muscles strong and preventing reinjury.   

After initially resting your injured muscle for a few days, start with a few gentle stretches of your lower back and core. Here are few exercises you can try:

• Cat-cow: To do the cat-cow, get on your hands and knees, and gently arch your back, then round your back.

• Knee-to-chest stretching: To do knee-to-chest stretching, lie on your back with your legs straight, bring one knee to the chest, and then arch it. 

• Glute bridge: To do a glute bridge, lie on your back with knees bent, gently press your lower back to the floor, squeeze your butt muscles, and raise your hips off the ground a few inches.  

You can slowly get back to your usual exercise routine. But it’s a good idea to keep doing exercises that strengthen your lower back and core to help prevent another injury. Some people like to do yoga, which helps build flexibility and strength. 

Pulled back muscle dos and don’ts

As you recover from a pulled back muscle, keep the following dos and don’ts in mind.

Do:

• Rest for 1-2 days to lower your chances of further injuring your muscle.

• Use ice to calm pain and inflammation in the first 2 days.

• Switch to heat after 2 days if swelling has gone down.

• If pain doesn’t improve, try OTC pain relievers.

• As pain goes away, ease back into the movements and exercises.

• Talk with a healthcare professional if your symptoms aren’t improving.  

Don’t:

• Don’t stay in bed for days. While it’s important to rest your injured muscle, completely avoiding activities and movement can prolong your healing.

• Don’t use heat in the first 48 hours after injury.  

• Don’t do any stretches or movements that hurt. After a muscle strain, pain should guide you as you ease back into activities and exercises.

Preventing back muscle strain

After pulling your muscle, it can be more vulnerable to reinjury. Prevent back muscle strains with the following tips:

• Always warm up before exercise. This includes dynamic stretches, short active movements, to prepare your muscles for activity.

• Don’t forget to cool down and stretch after exercise as well.

• Remember to use proper body mechanics, such as bending at the knees rather than the waist when lifting something. 

• Keep your body strong and flexible. Research has shown that combining strength training with either stretches or cardio, 2-3 times a week, can help prevent back pain.

When to get help

Most pulled muscles will get better on their own. But if your symptoms aren’t improving in 1 to 2 weeks, reach out to your primary care provider, a chiropractor, or a physical therapist for more guidance.

If you notice any of the following symptoms, get medical attention right away:

• Severe pain that’s worsening or you can’t control

• An unexplained fever (at or above 100.4°F or 38°C) 

• Loss of control in your bowel or bladder function

• Numbness or tingling in your groin

• Pain and weakness in both of your legs

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Written by:

Ashley Rawlins, PT, DPT

With over a decade of experience as a physical therapist, Ashley has established herself as a specialist in pelvic health. Her diverse career spans clinical practice, academia, and health content creation.

Edited by:

Laurie Tarkan

Laurie Tarkan is a senior health editor for general health and well-being at GoodRx. She has an extensive background in health journalism, and wrote regularly for The New York Times for a decade.

Reviewed by:

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH, is a medical editor at GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified pediatrician with more than a decade of experience in academic medicine.

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