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Do you ever feel pain after carrying out the physical activity for far too long or maintaining the same rigid/uncomfortable position for a while? This is your body telling you that your muscles are in pain. You should note that there is no single cause for muscle pain as there are muscles in almost every part of your body. Muscle pain is quite widespread, which makes it an essential topic for discussion. It is relatively common that one can tell the cause of their muscle ache due to the common cause being too much stress, tension, or repeated physical activities. Other common causes of muscle pain may include:
· Multiple or one area (s) suffering from muscle tension.
· Repeated use of the muscle while carrying out a physical activity
· Muscle injury during a rigorous activity/exercise.
· Not carrying out warm-up and cool-down procedures before and after a vigorous exercise.
Eight solid tips that can help you with muscle pain
CBD
The popularly known chemical compound from Cannabis, also known as Cannabidiol, has relatively many health benefits. CBD is primarily used for pain relief, but aside from that, it also serves as a sleep aid and stress killer. However, CBD can be consumed orally or applied topically on the area or muscle affected to relieve pain. Muscle pain could be soreness after a vigorous exercise, and CBD could be the perfect substitute for inflammatory medications. This study proves that CBD oil can treat pain, and this other study conducted in 2018 shows that CBD reduces inflammation by destroying the main compounds behind inflammation. It is advisable to consult and work with your healthcare provider on the proper dosage for acute and chronic pain, especially if you are a fitness enthusiast. There are countless CBD products/brands available online, but you can start by using this link https://cbdfx.com to check out CBDfx products.
Body movement
If you have remained in the same rigid and uncomfortable position for far too long, your body would need you to move and stretch around a bit. You would be doing your muscles a lot of good when you move around because you would be loosening all the tension and stiffness around the area affected. Well, you don't only benefit from loose tension when you move your body; there is also an increase of blood flow to the muscles involved, which speeds up the decrease in lactic acid. Lactic acid causes your muscles to feel a burning sensation when it is sore or tired.
Begin your exercises with a warm-up and stretch
Don't go into your exercise without any form of warm-up or stretching. Ensure to prepare your muscles and tendons for the training by stretching each muscle for up to 20 - 30 seconds to prevent your muscles from suffering from any injury.
The power of massage
Not everyone can afford to see a massage therapist, so you are advised to use the help of a foam roller or a tennis ball to alleviate the pain. It is not as difficult as you might imagine; you just have to make a foam roller to massage your sore muscles gently or get a tennis ball. Start with a small depth to your skin, but you can increase the depth as you keep going gently.
The magic of an Ice bath
You may or may not have heard of this technique of using an intense 10 minutes long ice bath to release tension and relieve soreness. You might find it painful during the first few minutes, but in the end, you will be glad you endured the pain because there will be increased blood circulation to the muscle in pain.
The hot and cold water technique, aka flush
If you can't stand placing ice in your skin for a long while, then you should consider flushing the soreness away. So what is flushing? Flushing uses both hot water and ice to relieve your muscle of soreness; you will continuously switch between (i.e., repeat this for about five times) hot water, which will run for two minutes, and ice for 30 seconds. What this process does to your body is, it will open your blood vessels when the hot water is running and close them when your skin is exposed to ice; this results in overall flushing out of lactic acid, which is responsible for your muscle's soreness.
Say yes to protein
Protein is a fundamental food division that helps the muscle recover faster; it has always been a natural energy source and a building block of life. The presence of protein aids the development of a fetus into an adolescent, so don't be surprised that we have added protein to our tip list. However, when it comes to protein consumption, it is essential to choose quality over quantity. Examples of protein food you should consume when your muscle aches include Greek yogurt, poultry, seafood, nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, and whole grains.
Water is the perfect drink
Water is essential to our overall wellness; dehydration may worsen the muscle ache you may already be going through. Staying hydrated helps reduce inflammation in your body, mainly because it helps flush out toxins in the form of waste out of your body. There is also an increase in the production of synovial fluid, which reduces inflammation around muscles when one is adequately hydrated.
Conclusion
You must know that muscle aches are not always as harmless as you think; they might get serious, and you might need to seek the medical assistance of a doctor. Yes, our tips might be helpful, but if the pain persists, do not hesitate to see a doctor. You should consult with a doctor when the pain doesn't go away days after trying the tips we gave, a tick bite causes muscle pain, pain causes your temperature to rise, or if you are starting to see a sign of redness around the affected area.
Reference links
https://www.healthline.com/health/muscle-aches#common-causes
https://www.google.com/amp/s/wtop.com/news/2013/09/8-tips-for-reducing-muscle-soreness/amp/
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
