If you’ve ever rolled your ankle or pulled a muscle, you’ve probably heard the terms sprain and strain. They sound similar, but they actually refer to different types of soft tissue injuries. Understanding the difference helps you know what’s happening in your body and how best to recover.
What Do We Mean by Soft Tissue?
Soft tissue includes muscles, tendons, and ligaments — the flexible, fibrous structures that support movement and stability. They’re made up of collagen and elastin fibres that allow your body to move, stretch, and absorb load.
Muscles are responsible for movement. When they contract, they create or control motion.
An injury to a muscle is called a muscle strain, which can range from a mild overstretch (Grade 1) to a complete tear (Grade 4).Tendons connect muscles to bones. Tendon injuries behave differently from muscle injuries and are often described as tears, ruptures, or tendinopathies.
Ligaments connect one bone to another and help keep joints stable. When a ligament is overstretched or torn, it’s called a sprain, which can also vary from mild to severe.
How Do Sprains and Strains Happen?
Both types of injuries occur when the tissue is stretched beyond its capacity:
Sprains often happen from a sudden twist, fall, or impact that forces a joint beyond its normal range — like rolling your ankle.
Strains usually occur with overuse, lifting something too heavy, or a sudden movement — for example, a hamstring strain during sport or a back strain from lifting.
Typical Symptoms
While both can cause pain and swelling, there are some key differences:
Sprain: pain around a joint, swelling, bruising, and sometimes instability or a “popping” feeling at the time of injury.
Strain: pain within the muscle, stiffness, weakness, and sometimes muscle spasms.
Assessment and Recovery
A physiotherapist can assess which tissue is injured and how severe it is, then guide you through the right treatment plan.
Milder injuries may recover within a couple of weeks, while more severe sprains or strains can take longer and may require structured rehabilitation.
Even with minor injuries, early physiotherapy can help reduce pain, restore strength and mobility, and significantly lower your risk of re-injury.
When to Seek Help
If pain, swelling, or weakness doesn’t settle after a few days — or if your joint feels unstable or bruised — it’s a good idea to get it checked. The sooner an injury is assessed, the sooner you can get on the right path to recovery.
How Spearwood Physio Can Help
At Spearwood Physio, our team can assess your injury, identify what structure is affected, and guide your recovery with a tailored treatment plan. We’ll help you move with confidence again — whether that means returning to sport, work, or everyday activity without pain.
If you’ve had a recent sprain or strain, book an appointment today to get started with the right advice and care.