As a Chiropractor, we often see people who want fast relief of their muscle pain. A quick fix is short-lived so the real question should be: how do they get to the root of their muscle pain?
Sadly, some people always have a lot of muscle pain. Others may only notice muscle pain when they work or try to exercise. There are many things that can cause this muscle pain, but the most common is ‘overuse injury.’ The funny thing is you don’t have to do a lot for it to be considered overuse. It all depends on what your muscles are used to doing on a regular basis. Many patients tell me they used to exercise, but not lately. This could be why there is pain when they start to do it again.
Most of us have developed some knots or trigger points in our muscles from a variety of reasons. We may have injured the muscle or the joints around it. We may slouch resulting in poor posture for months, or years, or, we may have chronic nerve tension that causes tight muscles. Perhaps we sleep on the same shoulder every night and it is starting to get sore. Or, heaven forbid, we admit we are under stress. Likely, in all these cases, there are some knots that have developed in muscles. While it may be a good idea to stretch or strengthen underused muscles, it may just cause more pain. If the knots make the muscle short, and you continue to use it, you will strain the ends of the muscle, the tendon, and start to feel pain there. The only way to prevent this is to get rid of the knots before increasing any exercise program.
So how do you get rid of the knots? If there is spinal irritation (back pain) with your muscle pain, then you likely have some nerve irritation (pinching). Chiropractic adjustments are the first line of defence and considered the most effective treatment. We see this commonly in leg and arm pains where the muscles are very tight. The neck or upper back is pinching nerves to the arm, and the lower back is pinching nerves to the legs. After the nerve irritation is cleared, the muscles start to unwind on their own.
If the muscle pain persists or comes with no sign of spinal trouble, then the knots need to be squeezed or pressed out, either statically with a ball, or your thumb, or with a massage. A good Chiropractor can get you started with this, and then you either learn how to continue this at home or many people prefer to see a Registered Massage Therapist. I find a lot of people are using massage guns at home and they can work well. The problem is they don’t know which muscles to work on and how hard to press and for how long. You may need to visit your Chiropractor or massage therapist to learn which muscles need work and get an idea of how long and how hard.
The other technique that works well at home for these trigger points or knots is lying on a ball: golf, tennis, or lacrosse balls all can be good. Note: You can only do so much each time. The body needs time to heal after exerting pressure on muscles. For lying on a ball, we recommend 15 seconds max of pretty good pressure (moderate pain) on each trigger point within the muscle at a time. Then move to the next trigger point for 15 seconds and so on. Circle back and lie on each trigger point maybe 2 or 3 times, just be sure to rest the muscle in between to allow the circulation of blood and oxygen. If you stir up these muscles too much, you may benefit from applying ice for 15 minutes.
Muscle pain can be very irritating, but with a little practise you can truly help the condition at home. Again, you may need a chiropractic or massage visit first, but listen closely to the advice and get started on your own self-help plan at home right away. You’ll be glad you did.