Everyone suffers from muscle pain from time to time. This is completely normal and a natural part of your body. Your muscles do a lot of work for us, and when they are overloaded, they need recovery time. However, that does not mean that muscle pain can feel very annoying.
In this article, we look at where muscle pain comes from, how you can prevent it, and what you can do best when you have muscle pain.
What is muscle pain?
Muscle pain is also known as “myalgia”. It is a word for the discomfort and (minor) pain that you can feel in your muscles. Because your muscles are everywhere in your body, you can also get muscle pain everywhere. However, there is no single reason to get muscle pain, this can be caused by several causes.Muscle pain is most common as a result of physical tension, stress, and physical activity. Think of a workout, carrying around a lot of stuff during a move, or being in a strange position while doing odd jobs. It is possible that these activities put a lot of tension on your muscles, causing them to become overtired. However, it can also be the case that you use or damage your muscles too much. Skipping a warmup or cooldown also affects this.
There are also medical indications that can cause muscle pain. The pain can vary from very mild to very severe. The following diseases and conditions are known to cause muscle pain:
- Fibromyalgia
- Chronic Fatigue Disorder
- Myofascial Pain Syndrome
- Infections, such as the flu, but also bacterial infections
- Autoimmune Diseases
- Thyroid Problems
- hypokalemia
- The use of certain drugs or medication
What to do about muscle pain?
Unfortunately, there is very little you can do to prevent muscle soreness. It is, after all, a part of life. However, you can reduce the chance of muscle soreness by always warming up your muscles well before using them a lot. A warm shower after exercise can also help relax your muscles.In addition, it is important to drink enough water and to get enough protein. Your proteins help to recover your muscles to reduce your muscle soreness as much as possible.
It is also useful to stretch regularly, especially if you have a sedentary job. Stretching your muscles now and then will keep them flexible and reduce your chances of straining them.
What helps against muscle pain?
If you already have muscle pain, it is of course very bad if you experience a lot of pain. Fortunately, several tips can help reduce/soothe your muscle pain when you already suffer from it.
1. Take a rest
By resting the affected body parts a lot, your muscles can recover faster. You will also experience less pain.
2. Take a painkiller
If the pain is unbearable, a pain reliever can help to ease the feeling. However, it is still important to rest.
3. Use an ice pack
In case of severe cramps and pain, an ice pack can provide a very cooling effect and thus relieve the pain. An ice pack also helps as an anti-inflammatory so that the swelling goes down sooner.
If after a few days you still have muscle pain without improvement, or if you get cramps for no reason, it is important to see a doctor. There may be more to it than just muscle pain.