Muscle pain can creep up on you, slowly building up or could appear overnight, depending on what has caused it. The pain, even when minor, can interfere with your routine chores and daily life. So why not nip the problem in the bud early with these common treatments for muscle pain?
Get It Checked!
Muscle pain often goes away on its own in a matter of days, but can sometimes last for months. It could crop up on your arms, legs, neck, back, hands, or pretty much anywhere in the body. Remember, if the pain is bad or has been lingering for a while, it is best to see a doctor as soon as possible to get medication or undergo treatment. If the muscle pain is not due to strain, sprain, or overuse, it must be treated for the underlying cause to ease the pain. The reasons for such pain could range from improper posture to rheumatoid arthritis.
In the meantime, the following remedies can supplement such treatments and offer relief from pain at home/work.
Ice It First! (Use Heat Later)
If your muscle pain is linked to exercise, use an ice pack(applied indirectly) to the affected area right away to reduce inflammation. After a day or so, you can apply warmth to the area to stimulate blood flow – this also eases any related joint pain.
Take A Warm Bath
Taking a warm bath can relax sore or aching muscles and ease the pain. You can also add Epsom salts to the bath to ease exercise-linked muscle pain, arthritic pain, tiredness.
Use Pain-Relieving Stretches, Massage, and Exercise
Gently stretch the affected muscle if it is cramping up – careful not to do anything that aggravates the pain. Yoga is known to help as much as physical therapy for things like back pain.
Here are some exercises you could try – always run them by your doctor and/or physiotherapist first.
- For the back muscles: Superman’s, knee-to-chest, bridge.
- For the knee muscles: Half-squats, straight leg raises, knee extensions.
- For the hip/glute muscles: Hip extensions, standing hip abductions.
- For the shoulder muscles: Plank, arm circles, shoulder blade squeeze.
Gentle therapeutic massage to the area by a trained masseuse may also help. Massage can help even for the muscle soreness and inflammation you get after intense exercise sessions.
Learn Relaxation Techniques
Relaxation techniques ease muscular tension and pain and stimulate blood flow to the body’s major muscles. Learn Progressive Muscle Relaxation(tensing and releasing all the muscles in the body one at a time), try Visualization, Deep Breathing, or even Meditation. Relaxation techniques also help ease any stress-related muscular aches and pains(your muscles tense up when you’re stressed, this will counter that effect).
Eat These Foods
This remedy works if your muscle pain and cramps are linked to an electrolyte imbalance. Magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium are needed by your body to enable normal muscular function. Inadequate levels may bring on muscular weakness as well as cramps. Most modern diets tend to have enough and more sodium but could be short on other electrolytes. Bananas and sweet potatoes have potassium, calcium, and magnesium; dark leafy greens, nuts, and seeds have both calcium and magnesium; avocados are potassium-rich; beans and dals(lentils) are magnesium-rich; and melons contain all these nutrients, so try and consume these as part of your regular diet.
Take Pain Relievers
Managing muscle pain can be challenging. Sometimes, the pain might be too much to bear or may not be alleviated with home remedies. In such cases, you could consider using pain killer gels. If the pain still doesn’t reduce, you should seek a physician’s advise. Your doctor may prescribe a muscle relaxant, or recommend other treatments.
Use A Pain Relief Gel
The best pain relief ointments can provide instant topical pain relief from muscle pain. Omnigel pain reliever, also available as a muscle pain spray, gives you respite almost immediately when it is applied to the affected area. Simply rub on or spray on and you should feel the aches easing in a few minutes. It is compact and you can take the Omnigel tube wherever you go for muscle pain relief anytime, anywhere!
Learn more about how Omnigel can help ease your muscle pains, swelling, and inflammation.
