Muscle pains and aches and can involve more than one muscle, in addition to ligaments, tendons, and fascia, the soft tissues that connect muscles, bones, and organs.
Muscle pain results from tension, overuse, or muscle injury from exercise or physically demanding work. The pain involves specific muscles and begins during or immediately following the activity.
Muscle pain also can signify conditions affecting the entire body, such as infections like the flu and disorders that affect connective tissues throughout the body, like lupus.
A common cause of muscle pain is fibromyalgia, a condition whose traits include tenderness in the muscles and surrounding soft tissue, sleep difficulties, fatigue, and headaches. Common causes of muscle pain are injury or trauma, including strains and sprains; overuse of a muscle; tension or stress. Muscle pain also be due to the use of certain drugs, including ACE inhibitors for lowering blood pressure, cocaine, and statins for lowering cholesterol; Dermatomyositis; electrolyte imbalances involving too little potassium or calcium; Fibromyalgia; infections, including Influenza, Lyme disease, Malaria, Muscle abscess, Polio, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Trichinosis (roundworm), Lupus, Polymyalgia rheumatica, Polymyositis, and Rhabdomyolysis.
People who experience muscle pain from overuse or injury should rest that body part and take acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Apply ice for the first 24 - 72 hours of an injury to reduce pain and inflammation; apply heat afterward. Muscle aches from overuse and fibromyalgia respond to gentle stretching exercises after a long rest period; massage also helps. Regular exercise, including walking, cycling and swimming, can help restore proper muscle tone. A physical therapist can teach stretching, toning, and aerobic exercises that will enable the patient to feel better and stay pain-free. Those injured or in pain should begin all course of exercise slowly; avoid high-impact aerobic activities and weightlifting. Patients should also aim for a lifestyle that includes more sleep and less stress; yoga and meditation can help as well.
If home-based measures do not work, call a doctor, who will consider prescription medication, physical therapy referral, or referral to a specialized pain clinic. If the muscle aches are attributed to a specific disease, follow the instructions given by the doctor for treatment. Call a doctor if the muscle pain lasts more than three days, you have severe, unexplained pain or any signs of infection, such as swelling or redness around the tender muscle, you have poor circulation in the area where the muscles aches, if you suffer from a tick bite or a rash, or if your muscle pain has been associated with starting or changing doses of a medicine, such as a statin. Immediate medical aid should be sought if you suffer sudden weight gain, water retention, or you are urinating less than usual, you suffer shortness of breath or have problems swallowing, if you suffer from weak muscles or are unable to move any part of your body, or if you vomit, have a very stiff neck, or experience high fever.
At their office, the physician will perform a physical examination and ask questions about your muscle pain, such as When did it start? How long did it last? Where is it located, all over or in one specific area? Does it always hurt in the same location? What makes it better or worse? Do other symptoms occur concurrently, like joint pain, fever, vomiting, weakness, malaise, or difficulty using the affected muscle? Is there a pattern to the muscle aches? and Have you taken any new medications lately?
Tests that may be done during the visit include a complete blood count (CBC), and other blood tests to examine muscle enzymes (creatine kinase) and possibly a test for Lyme disease or a connective tissue disorder.
Physical therapy may be helpful but prevention is vitally important. To prevent muscle pain, warm up before exercising and cool down afterward, stretch before and after exercising, drink fluids before, during, and after exercise, and if you work in the same position all day, like before a computer, stretch at least every hour.
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