Muscle pain

Muscle pain

Muscle pain occurs because the muscle has been damaged. Damage to muscles can result from shocks, blows, overload or monotonous work. Take the pain seriously - pain is a signal to you that something in the body is wrong.

What is muscle pain?

Muscle pain is pain, tenderness, stiffness or reduced functionality in the muscles. You may have local pain or pain throughout the body. The cause of local muscle pain is usually improper use or overloading of the muscle. Another reason may be unfamiliar use of the muscle. Many people also experience muscle pain with febrile illnesses, especially with flu.

What can you do yourself?

For local muscle pain, massage, relaxation techniques and personal training can have a positive effect. If you have a sedentary work day, it can be beneficial to change your sitting position, and possibly stand, a few times during the day. If you experience muscle pain, you are encouraged to have as active an everyday life as possible. Avoid overloading muscles that hurt, but try to find other ways to exercise. Physiotherapy has a good effect on many people with muscle pain.

First aid for acute muscle injuries

If you experience muscle pain due to acute injuries such as impact, blow, overload or sprain, the following measures (the Rice principle) will help to limit the extent of the damage:

• Tranquility. Avoid putting pressure on the injured area

• Ice or ice pack. Cool the injured area

• Compression. Use an elastic bandage to reduce swelling

• Raise. Keep the area elevated, place your arm or foot on a pillow, for example

Once the worst of the pain and swelling is over, you can slowly start putting weight on the area. Then the healing process will go faster, and you will be better equipped against similar injuries in the future.

Self-treatment of muscle pain

For over-the-counter medicines, paracetamol (Paracet, Pinex) is the first choice for self-treatment of pain. There are also painkillers and anti-inflammatory medicines (NSAIDs) that can be tried. If you have local pain, treatment with a gel will have a good effect. Remember to read the package insert before using medicines. Read more about non-prescription medicines for pain here.