Muscle Aches and Pains

Muscle aches, strains, soreness and stiffness should be expected after a strenuous exercise.  There is nothing you can do to get around them.  According to Dr. Malone, Executive Director of Sports Medicine, any kind of activity, if increased, results in aching muscles and there is little to do to stop the tissue response.  In fact, your twinges should be mild enough to remind you that you had a healthy workout, not serious enough to keep you from wanting to do it again.  Any kind of exertion in the way of strenuous exercise or activity can result in muscle pain, but overexertion can be sometimes harmful.

Common muscle soreness typically has two causes:  l) The immediate discomfort of heavy, extensive physical effort which usually fades soon after the exertion;  2) Delayed muscle soreness occurring within two or three days after the activity.  In the words of Richard Bachrach, president and medical director of the Center of Sports and Osteopathic Medicine, in New York City,  you are actually bruising your muscles when they are strained, and, in fact, they bleed inside.  Muscles undergo pain when they grow stronger.  It is definitely a natural process, but you should not overdo it.   As time goes by, people quickly develop a tolerance. The activity no longer causes any pain, as long as you continue to perform it regularly.   It is important to stay in shape while you continue the exercise program that strengthens your muscles. 

Exercise manages all sorts of pain.  Aerobically-conditioned people do not suffer from aches and pains as much as those that are unfit.  A weight-training regimen makes your body durable for activities; it also strengthens the muscle/tendon connection, as well as prevents strains.

Take time to stretch:  Stretching and warming up help prevent common soreness and severe injuries.  Increase in body temperature that accompanies stretching and warming up makes muscles and tendons less likely to tear, according to John Skowron, a licensed physical therapist and director of Raleigh Community Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy in Raleigh, North Carolina.  The stretching must be gently executed for 10 to 15 seconds. Forceful, “ballistic” movements contract muscles due to unnecessary stress.

Minor aches of overtaxed muscles will dissipate on their own after a day or two and you do not need to treat them.  If there is severe soreness from overuse, doctors advise PRICE,  a mnemonic string on the finger that stands for Protect, Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevate.

Some tips that may help:  Protect and rest the muscle. You do not have to be completely bedridden.  Ice reduces inflammation and swelling.  You do not have to use an ice bag or gel packs.  Just a bag of frozen peas. Do not dwell on your bruise.  Protect it, rest it, ice it, compress it and elevate it, but also work it to prevent stiffness.  Never use heat as it aggravates inflammation and swelling and delays recovery.  Never use heat on an acute muscle injury, such as a pull or strain.