Dorothy FarrarHome remedies for sore muscles
Almost everyone feels their muscles after unusual physical activity: muscle soreness. Small fibers of tissue tear from a muscle. As a result, fluid flows to the healing process and swelling develops, which represents the pain when moving. Usually the sore muscles are gone after 2.3 days. There are home remedies for sore muscles that help quickly.
What is sore muscles?
Muscle soreness is a widespread phenomenon that almost everyone knows from personal experience. In everyday life, this refers to all those muscle pains that are the result of sporting activities or other physical exertion. Muscle soreness usually occurs when we train for an unusually long time or perform unusual movements.
Causes
The cause of sore muscles has not yet been finally clarified. There are, however, a number of possible explanations. It used to be assumed that muscle soreness is the result of increased lactic acid formation in the affected muscle. Accumulations of small bruises have also been blamed for sore muscles. However, these theses are now considered disproved. Instead, it is assumed that the typical muscle pain after sports or other physical activities is due to small injuries to the muscle fibers.
If untrained or rarely used muscles are suddenly put under heavy strain, this leads to overloading of the muscle fibers and, as a result, to tiny tears and other minor injuries. At the same time, the stressed muscle groups become acidic due to lactic acid. According to current knowledge, however, this effect is not responsible for the pain. Instead, these result from water retention in the muscle tears, causing the muscle fibers to swell. The risk of these micro-injuries when braking is particularly high, which is why running downhill usually causes more sore muscles than the previous ascent to a hill.
Sore muscles are basically completely harmless, even if they can be accompanied by very severe and extremely uncomfortable pain. If the overstressed muscles are sufficiently rested, they usually recover completely. Complications can only be expected if the increased strain continues and the already affected muscles continue to be overloaded. In these cases, a muscle fiber tear can occur, which must be treated professionally immediately, otherwise it can take weeks to heal.
In addition, there is a risk that sore muscles will be mistaken for more serious conditions, such as pulled or bruised muscles, or that the pain of sore muscles will mask the more serious injuries. If an alleged soreness persists for days without the pain noticeably decreasing, a doctor should therefore be consulted as a precaution. Caution is also required if muscle soreness occurs spontaneously and apparently without a specific cause. In these cases, muscle soreness can be a symptom of a serious underlying disease such as epilepsy or the first indication of a thrombosis .
What helps against sore muscles?
- After strenuous physical activity, it is very helpful to prevent sore muscles by taking a hot shower or bath. The heat increases blood flow to the muscles and helps against sore muscles .
- There are ointments that contain cayenne pepper and increase blood flow to the skin and underlying muscles. When buying, you should pay particular attention to the capsaicin content, as this should not exceed 0.05% for ointments. There are also tinctures (no more than 0.01% capsaicin) and plasters (up to 40 μg per cm²) that help against sore muscles.
- If you do a lot of sports, it is helpful to take magnesium . During physical activity, the body needs a lot of magnesium to transmit stimulus from nerves to muscles. Normally you get enough of it with food, but if you are under heavy strain, taking magnesium supplements is very helpful. You can buy magnesium in the form of effervescent tablets or capsules in supermarkets and online drugstores.
Quick help for sore muscles
- A wonderful cure for sore muscles is a visit to the sauna! Especially if you visit a gym where you have the opportunity to use the sauna after training, you should do so. The heat accelerates the blood circulation in the muscle and waste products of the metabolism can be removed more easily.
- Another home remedy for sore muscles is the essential oil of the camphor tree, because it also promotes blood circulation. You can buy this essential oil as a cream in online pharmacies. With camphor, however, it must be ensured that children under the age of 5 years are not given it, as it can cause symptoms of poisoning!
- Another home remedy for sore muscles is exercise. Even if it hurts, it is very helpful to move slightly after warming up sufficiently. It is best to go swimming in water that is at least 25°C warm. Easy jogging also helps to loosen the muscles.
Alternative remedies
- An age-old alternative remedy for sore muscles is arnica. It is most commonly used in the form of a jelly. As well as helping against sore muscles, it also helps against muscle tears and muscle pain .
- Grandma’s home remedy for sore muscles is St. John’s wort oil. It has been used for ages to treat wounds and muscle pain. Since St. John’s wort makes the skin sensitive to light, care should be taken to avoid sunlight after use.
- One of the most important methods against sore muscles is extensive stretching before each training session. Especially when unfamiliar movement sequences are being trained or performed, one should first consider how to warm up and stretch the muscles that are being used. For example, if you go climbing for the first time, you should definitely stretch your wrists and neck in addition to the usual stretching exercises. If you’re not sure, there’s always someone nearby to ask for advice.
See Sore Muscles for more information . Usually any sore muscles are harmless and there is no need to see a doctor. However, if this lasts for more than a week, it could be a muscle fiber tear or a strain . Such an injury would have to be thoroughly healed. A doctor should be consulted to find the right treatment.
Hello and welcome to my Health Guide & Encyclopedia! My name is Dorothy Farrar, and I'm the founder and main author of this platform.
My passion for health and wellness started at a young age when I became interested in the connection between the food we eat and the way we feel. This fascination led me to study nutrition and dietetics in college, where I learned about the importance of a balanced diet and the impact of various nutrients on the body.