By Clinton Grobbelaar, Physiotherapist. Published 13 October 2026.
Most pulled muscles take two to eight weeks to heal. A mild strain often feels much better within two weeks, while a bigger tear can take two to three months.
How long does a pulled muscle take to heal in your case? That comes down to the grade of the tear, which muscle it is, and what you do first.
In short
- Most pulled muscles settle in two to eight weeks, depending on how much muscle is torn.
- A mild strain feels better in about two weeks, but the NHS advises staying off running for up to eight.
- What you do in the first two to three days changes the timeline more than anything else.
- Pain that stops you weight-bearing, a crack at the moment of injury, or no progress after two weeks all need assessing.
What is a pulled muscle?
A pulled muscle is a muscle strain. Some of the fibres have been overstretched or torn.
It usually happens in a single moment. A sprint, a lift, a reach, a slip off a kerb.
You feel a sharp catch, then an ache that builds over the next day. Bruising, when it shows up, often appears later and lower down than the injury itself.
A pulled muscle and a torn muscle are the same injury at different severities, not two separate problems.
Hamstrings, calves, groins and lower backs account for most of the strains Brookwood Physio treats.
How bad is it? The three grades of a muscle strain
Physiotherapists grade a strain by how much of the muscle is damaged. Harvard Health sets the three grades out like this:
- Grade 1 (mild): only a few fibres are stretched or torn. Pain and tenderness are mild, and your strength is normal.
- Grade 2 (moderate): more fibres are torn. Pain is worse, there is mild swelling, you lose noticeable strength, and you may bruise.
- Grade 3 (complete tear): the muscle tears right through, causing complete loss of muscle function and sometimes a visible gap in the muscle outline.
If you can still contract the muscle and put weight through it, you are almost certainly dealing with a grade 1 or grade 2.
Grade 3 tears are rare, and usually obvious. They need a specialist opinion and often surgical repair.
How long does a pulled muscle take to heal at each grade?
| Grade | How it feels | Typical healing time |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 1, mild | Sore and stiff, strength normal | A few weeks |
| Grade 2, moderate | Painful and swollen, noticeably weak | Two to three months |
| Grade 3, complete tear | Loss of function, visible dent in the muscle | Months, usually after surgical repair |
Those timeframes come from Harvard Health, which also notes that grade 1 and grade 2 symptoms are mostly or entirely gone within about eight to ten weeks.
Feeling better and being healed are not the same thing. The NHS says most sprains and strains feel better after two weeks, but advises avoiding strenuous exercise such as running for up to eight weeks because of the risk of further damage.
That gap between week two and week eight is where most re-injuries happen.
Why does the same strain heal faster in some muscles than others?
Two people can tear the same amount of muscle and be out for very different lengths of time.
Calf strains tend to declare themselves early, because you load the calf with every step. That makes them easier to catch and easier to grade.
Hamstrings are sneakier. They work hardest at speed, so you can walk around comfortably and still be weeks away from sprinting safely.
Lower back strains feel the slowest of all. Those muscles never get a day off, because they hold you upright while you sit, stand and sleep.
Where the tear sits matters as much as how big it is. The muscle injury classification published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2014 treats tears that extend into the tendon as the ones with the poorest outlook.
What should you do in the first two to three days?
The NHS recommends PRICE therapy for the first two to three days after a sprain or strain:
- Protect the muscle from further injury.
- Rest it, then start moving it gently as soon as you can do so without pain stopping you.
- Ice it with an ice pack, or a bag of frozen vegetables wrapped in a tea towel, for up to 20 minutes every two to three hours.
- Compress the area with a bandage to limit swelling.
- Elevate the limb where you can.
The same NHS guidance says to avoid heat, alcohol and massage for the first couple of days.
Gently keeping the muscle moving, within what pain allows, is the most useful thing you can do in week one.
What slows recovery down?
Clinton has run private practice for more than 30 years, and the same handful of patterns turn up again and again:
- Resting completely for two weeks, then going straight back to full pace.
- Stretching hard into the painful spot, which irritates healing tissue.
- Booking a deep massage in the first 48 hours, which the NHS specifically advises against.
- Going back by the calendar rather than by what the muscle can actually do.
- Treating the strain and ignoring what caused it: a stiff hip, a weak calf, a bad desk setup.
That last one is why a second strain in the same muscle deserves a proper assessment rather than another fortnight off.
Does hands-on treatment change the timeline?
Honestly, not much for a straightforward grade 1. A mild strain heals on its own, and the value of seeing someone early is getting the grade right and the loading plan right.
Grade 2 strains, stubborn cases and repeat strains are different. Here the combination of hands-on work and a specific loading programme earns its place.
Pain that nags on for months is often a tendon problem rather than a muscle strain. Tennis and golfer's elbow are the everyday examples, and they follow a different timeline entirely.
That is the bulk of sports injury treatment at Brookwood Physio: soft tissue and spinal mobilisation, then exercise prescribed for the muscle and the cause. Sessions run a full hour, which is what it takes to do both.
When should you see a physiotherapist?
Some signs need urgent medical care rather than physiotherapy. The NHS advises calling 999 or going to A and E if you heard a crack when you were injured, or the injured body part has changed shape or points at an odd angle.
Contact NHS 111 if you cannot put weight on it or walk more than a few steps, or if self-care is not helping at all. See a GP if the injury is getting worse rather than better.
Book a physiotherapy assessment if:
- the injury is still limiting you two weeks in
- it is the same muscle you strained last time
- you have numbness, pins and needles, or pain travelling down a limb, which points at nerve involvement rather than muscle, as happens with sciatica
- you need to be back for a race, a season or a physical job
Two weeks with no improvement at all is the clearest signal that something other than a simple strain is going on.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. A pull, a strain and a tear describe the same injury at different severities. Grade 1 is a small tear, grade 3 is a complete one.
Ice first. The NHS advises ice for up to 20 minutes every two to three hours and says to avoid heat for the first couple of days. Heat is more useful later, once swelling has settled.
Most grade 1 and many grade 2 strains do heal on their own. What treatment adds is a faster, safer return and a lower chance of straining it again.
No. Bruising tends to appear with grade 2 and grade 3 strains, and Harvard Health lists it as a possible rather than a guaranteed sign. Plenty of mild strains never bruise at all.
Muscle pain is usually local, sore to press, and worse when you contract or stretch that muscle. Nerve pain tends to travel, and often brings numbness, tingling or weakness with it.
You can usually keep moving the area gently straight away, and cross-train around it. Avoid strenuous exercise such as running for up to eight weeks, which is what the NHS advises after a sprain or strain.
Get it looked at properly
If a pulled muscle is not behaving the way this article describes, it is worth an hour of someone's full attention. Brookwood Physio runs hands-on, hour-long sessions in Brookwood, Woking, at rates that do not make a second visit a problem.
You can get in touch to book an assessment whenever you are ready.
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