What can cause it?

Although a pulled muscle can typically be the butt of jokes aimed towards the unfit, even the world’s best athletes aren’t immune to over-exerting. “There are lots of reasons for muscle strain and everybody would have experienced some level of it at some point,” Nicolette says. “Acute strains can occur from collisions in sport, something as simple as tripping over, landing off balance, incorrect form or when you haven’t warmed up and prepped your body correctly. Everyone is built differently, most of us aren’t symmetrical therefore we tend to favour doing things with a certain hand or leg we are dominant on. This can then create imbalances in our bodies which, if not addressed, could eventually lead to muscle strains. This is why strength training, in particular unilateral strength work (using a single arm or leg) is so important. It can help us to address and correct these imbalances.”

How can we avoid pulling a muscle?

As haunting as your PE class warm-up may be, preparing our body for a pain-free workout is not to be sniffed at. “Starting a workout with cold muscles can be a sure-fire way to pull one,” personal trainer Tess Glynne-Jones tells us. “Warming up properly, including movement-replicative exercises and slowly easing the body into a workout instead of rushing straight into explosive or heavy movements, can make all the difference. Pulsing in stretches can increase our range of movement more than holding or jamming a stretch. Try 15-20 pulses of a pigeon stretch on a box to increase the movement in the hip and help to loosen the glutes, while pulsing toe taps will help increase elasticity of the hamstrings, a muscle that’s prone to injury. If you have explosive moments in your session, bring dynamic movements into your warm-up but start with more controlled movements such as lunges and body weight squats before moving into warm-up exercises like broad jumps and kicks.”

Should you train with a pulled muscle?