Why do muscles get stiff and painful?

Muscle fibers are designed to tense and relax and go through a natural tense/relax cycle as you use your body.   A muscle under sustained tension without a corresponding relaxation phase becomes stiff and eventually spams causing pain.

There are three reasons why muscles don’t relax:

  • Overuse is for example when you injury yourself in the gym.
  • Disuse is when your muscles tense when you are at your desk due to the body’s natural response to the demands and pressure you are under.  Muscles are designed to be used which means if you sit still for long periods the muscular tension doesn’t dissipate.
  • Misuse for the majority of people this is due to poor habits when walking, standing and sitting.  Sedentary lifestyles means the muscles of the legs are often held in contracted positions for long periods of time and which can lead to stiffness.  Sitting at computers for long hours keeps the neck and back in fixed positions causing the same muscles to contract which can lead to muscle tension and in some people muscle pain.

What can I do to prevention muscular stiffness and pain?

  • Stretching Often – Stretching is, of course, a valuable way to relieve muscle stiffness.
  • Exercise – Exercise in general is extremely good for releasing muscular stiffness, improving your mood and creating good health.
  • Yoga -You can also consider yoga, which is a form of both exercise and stretching, and may have a positive effect on your future muscle discomfort.
  • General Health – Your muscles are also very sensitive to your general health as well. You need to do anything you can to make sure you’re getting enough sleep, eating protein, and drinking water. These small changes are going to improve your muscle health, which should improve the way your muscles deal with demanding lifestyles.
  • Massage – Massage is an excellent way to combat muscle stiffness and pain.

Both deep tissue and sports massage help to release muscular stiffness and pain, in addition sports massage treats sports injuries.

Related Posts

  • Difference Between Sports and Deep Tissue Massage

    • Seated Acupressure Neck & Shoulder massage is a short focused massage to release tension in the Neck & Shoulders
    • Choose Sports massage over deep tissue massage when you go to the gym with a specific sporting goal in mind, i.e. you are going for more than just generally keeping fit.  Or you are really focused on your sport including actively taking part in competitions or you are keen to improve your performance or your training is solely focused on your sport and you do not cross train.
    Sports Massage Deep Tissue Massage
    Incorporates Deep Pressure Yes Yes
    Similar massage stokes Yes Yes
    Releases muscle tension, pain, physical stress and stiffness while restoring flexibility Yes Yes
    Able to resolve common injuries and woes for inactive, desk bound people Yes Yes
    Incorporates a custom blend of oils and hot stones to relieve tension and anxiety No Yes
    Athlete orientated including -      Focus on improving athletic performance -      Incorporates stretching -      Assessing injury risk -      Rehabilitation after injury Yes No
    Knowledge of sport -     Able to deliver specific pre-exercise treatment for any given sport -     Able to deliver specific post-exercise treatment for any given sport -     Able to deliver specific treatment during intense training for any given sport Yes No
     

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