What's Causing Your Soreness?

When I think of muscle soreness, I think of exercise. The times I have experienced being sore are usually the day(s) following an intense workout. However, this is but one possible cause of muscle soreness.

Causes and Symptoms

Cleveland Clinic says muscle soreness and pain can happen due to injury, overuse, stress, an autoimmune disease, neurological and muscle disorders, infection, obstructed blood flow, or side effects from drugs.

Sounds pretty serious right? Well, they can be.

Injury

They say injury can occur due to:

• Blunt force trauma

• Muscle tears or pulls

• Repetitive motion

• Overuse

• Improper warm up and cool down

• Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS)

• Poor posture or form

• Compartment syndrome

If you have a muscle injury you may experience pain, weakness, bruising, swelling, and cramping of the muscles.

Stress

Stress and tension are also a big cause of muscle soreness.

“Sudden stress may cause muscles to tense up but once the stress passes, the tension is released,” Cleveland Clinic claims. “In chronic (long-lasting) stress, muscles may remain in a near constant state of tension, leading to pain and headaches if tension is felt in the shoulders and neck.”

So, by managing stress, you can reduce any muscle pain you might experience. According to JohnMello, you can cope with stress by relaxing, slowing down, identifying the source of stress, and making changes. For some fast relief, try taking a short break, looking out a window, shifting your focus, laughing, or talking to someone.

While you can personally reduce the amount of stress you feel, infections can be a little harder to treat.

Infection

Some infections like the flu can be treated adequately at home, but others can be very dangerous and require medical attention. Malaria, trichinosis, and rocky mountain spotted fever are infections that cause muscle pain and could turn fatal so it is important to receive immediate treatment.

Certain autoimmune diseases such as myositis and lupus can result in muscle pain too. Myositis causes muscle inflammation which leads to muscle soreness and weakness. Lupus can also cause inflammation in the muscles. Muscle pain is a common symptom in people with lupus.

Other diseases that can encourage muscle soreness include fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, chronic fatigue syndrome, electrolyte imbalance, and peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

That sure is a lot of things that can promote muscle soreness. So if your muscle pain is chronic, the reason could have to do with something other than simply exercise.

Treatments

Luckily, there are many methods of relieving muscle pain and soreness available.

Kevin W suggests getting a massage to treat muscle soreness. Your diet and workout habits could also help.

He says certain foods can reduce inflammation. This includes:

• Pineapples

• Salmon

• Nuts

• Berries

• Vegetable oils

• Whole grains

• Green vegetables

Foods are able to do this because of the phytonutrients they contain. Ellagic acid and glucosinolates are just two of the phytonutrients that fight inflammation. You can eat strawberries, blackberries, grapes, pomegranates, walnuts, pecans, broccoli, bok choy, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, and mustard to get the benefits of ellagic acid and glucosinolates.

In terms of workout, what you do to recover can make a big difference. Drinking lots of water can help flush out the lactic acid that causes muscle soreness. What you eat after working out should help replace the nutrients you lost during exercise.

Other treatment options include icing, taking pain relievers, applying specialized creams, applying heat, and exercise. Yes, more exercise can help ease soreness. These exercises should be gentler, like stretching or walking.