Nurse Sore Muscles Back to Health With These Home Remedies
Seems like I am on the roll here with sore muscles. I played tennis last night with friends and it seemed to be the topic among the players. This prompted me to do articles, quick and simple steps to nurse these sore muscles back to health!
Sore muscles have plagued us all. Regardless of our age, a stressed muscle can become sore when we start an exercise regimen, perform excessive manual labor, or even stay seated in the same position for too long! These aches and pains can make performing necessary tasks unbearable.
Soothe your aching muscles and nurse them back to health with these natural remedies:
1.聽聽聽聽聽 Take a break. If your sore muscles are a consequence of overexertion or exercise, continuing the strenuous activity won’t help ease the soreness. Therefore, you should take a break from the routine so your muscles get a chance to recover.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Muscle soreness from overexertion is the result of microscopic tears in the muscle tissue caused by the stress of the activity. Your body needs time to repair itself.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 If you start to experience soreness or stiffness during an activity, give it a rest. Pace yourself. Stretch sore area gently.
2.聽聽聽聽聽 Soak in Epsom salt or vinegar. Epsom salt contains magnesium sulfate and can replace lost magnesium in the body, thus helping to keep the muscles pliable and loose. I especially love the scented ones, lavender. Vinegar is very effective at pulling out lactic acid from the muscles, which contributes to soreness.
3.聽聽聽聽聽 Use an ice pack.聽Ice packs are super helpful with sore muscles. If possible, apply an ice pack immediately as soon as you feel the soreness. Keep the ice pack on the sore area for about 20 minutes and then remove it for another 20 minutes. Repeat the process two to three times. This process works great for muscle soreness due to injury too. It can keep bruising to a minimum. Ice helps reduce inflammation and allows your body to repair itself.
4.聽聽聽聽聽 Get a massage. Usually, muscle stiffness and soreness are also accompanied by restricted blood flow. Get a professional massage. You deserve it. Find deals in your local area. Groupon, Facebook pages, etc.聽A massage can help stimulate the flow of blood around the sore areas. Here are some helpful tips:
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 You don’t need to pay for a professional massage; all you need to do is gently rub the area yourself. Use mechanical massagers of choice. Percussors are also great for deeper tissue massage. Use exercise rollers under the hamstrings, ITB /ITband/Iliotibial band, or the quads/thigh muscles. You can also use a tennis ball over the sore spot.聽
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Apply this technique right before or after you applied the ice pack and you can get better results.
5.聽聽聽聽聽 Boost your potassium levels.If you’re susceptible to muscle soreness or stiffness, it’s very possible that your potassium levels are low. You can quickly raise those levels by eating more bananas, which are rich in potassium. Coconut water is a favorite of mine and uses it instead of Gatorade during tennis games. cantaloupes, oranges, apricots, honeydew, grapefruit, potatoes, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, cucumbers, peas are just examples of potassium-rich foods. Some dried fruits (dates, prunes, and raisins) also are good sources.
路聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Drinking lots of water can also help to relieve and prevent stiff, painful muscles.
6.聽聽聽聽聽 Apply apple cider vinegar.聽Who knew?聽Depending on the source of the soreness, you can do either a warm compress or a cold compress. Soaking the compress tool in apple cider vinegar is a great way to extract the lactic acid that contributes to sore muscles.
These simple home remedies are excellent for nursing your sore muscles back to health. Ignoring soreness or disregarding muscle discomfort as something that will eventually fix itself may not be the best idea!聽
VIDEO ABOVE: A Quick Way to Relieve Sore Muscles Stretching with an Exercise Ball
Make every effort to heal the muscles before getting back into your usual routine. Love your muscles. They serve you!
The World鈥檚 Worst Sore Muscle Advice and What to Do Instead
I work with both younger and older adults at my private practice clinic. A common complaint however especially after a physical therapy session: “I am sore!!!” Never fails.
Providing education, however, goes a long way in making these patients understand that working specific muscles to address pain, correct movement, does take a toll on muscles but it also promotes its ability and capacity to tolerate more load, allowing an individual to perform daily tasks pain-free.聽
聽Soreness can be expected when muscles work just beyond what a person does normally on an average day. The results however are worth the effort. This does reassure patients to work through the therapeutic activities knowing it is for a specific purpose.
Some good days, you鈥檙e pleased with yourself for finally painting the guest room or spending an extra half hour on the rowing machine. The next day you can barely brush your teeth because you鈥檙e sore all over.聽You probably have a case of delayed onset muscle soreness.聽This is common for weekend warriors as well. And….. we do get them a lot at our clinic.聽
That achy feeling is caused by microscopic tears in your muscle tissue, which lead to inflammation and discomfort. It can present itself about 1 or 2 days after engaging in strenuous activity or a task that you don’t normally do on regular days.
聽Though聽it is nothing serious, there are some things that will relieve the pain.聽Other things you鈥檙e better off avoiding.聽
聽Worst Advice for Treating Sore Muscles
1.聽聽聽聽聽 Be a couch potato.“Rest, don’t do anything”, “Stop working out”, “Stop doing exercises”. Although there is merit to this, inactivity will prolong your soreness. Daily conditioning is better, doing easy exercises as per your physical therapist’s advice, or from a good personal or athletic trainer. This consistent and well-planned exercise program or routine is best for your body than popping into the gym once every three months.
2.聽 聽 聽Assume all pain is the same.Sudden pain requires a different approach.Stop what you鈥檙e doing. Sharp, sudden onset pain is an indication of a significant problem. It can indicate a torn tendon, a sprain or strain, even a fracture in more serious cases. Some patients I worked with fractured toes and ruptured Achilles tendon from doing certain exercises in Crossfit that they are not used to. On the other side of the spectrum, some older adults fracture a hip just by standing up from sitting. Get medical attention if needed for muscle strains and tears.
3.聽聽聽聽聽 Worry about lactic acid. Experts used to believe that soreness was caused by lactic acid buildups. Research now shows that lactic acid dissolves almost instantly after exercising.聽
聽During聽exercise, the body uses oxygen to break down glucose for energy. When exercising intensely,聽there may not be enough oxygen available to complete the process. This is when a substance called聽lactate/lactate acid聽is produced. Your body can convert this聽lactate聽to energy without using oxygen.
The research did determine that lactic acid,聽 is actually an important energy source for muscles. it further found that the accumulation of lactate does not inhibit the ability of skeletal muscles to contract.聽The notion that lactic acid is responsible for the delayed onset of muscle soreness, (also known as DOMS), was debunked in the 1980s. Research suggested that muscle soreness is a result of subsequent physiological effects as a response to microscopic trauma sustained during intense exercise. This cascade includes inflammation in the muscles in response to the microtrauma.聽The research about lactic acid in recent years in relation to muscle fatigue has evolved over the last century. It indicated that lactic acid is not actually the culprit that it was once thought to be in regards to muscle fatigue.聽聽
Do these Instead to Help Your Sore Muscles
1.聽聽聽聽聽 Stay active. Moving around increases blood flow. Movement, engaging muscles in daily activities ensure their capacity for activity tolerance.聽Movement and exercise circulates more oxygen and nutrients to all your body parts so they can heal and grow stronger.
2.聽聽 聽 聽Cross-train.Alternating between recreational activities or sports allows optimal muscle function. Even high-level athletes do it. Famous and renowned basketball players cross-train with soccer, even yoga! Kayaking, paddleboarding, and running target different muscles. Give your arms a day off and work your legs instead. Head for the pool instead of the jogging track.
3.聽聽聽聽聽 Intensify workouts gradually.聽Start easy. You can increase repetitions from 10 to 15 reps聽to 20 reps as you get better. Always refer to a physical therapist, trainer, or athletic trainer for exercise strategies appropriate for your specific status and condition.聽Increasing your workout load by 10% or less a week is a good rule to follow. That means running 11 miles if you usually do 10.
4.聽聽 聽Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!聽Dehydration weakens muscles and makes them more prone to soreness.聽Again, many theories are out there on how much water you need in a day. A rule of thumb, 8 glasses a day. Whether you drink a little lesser or more, your body still gets the hydration it needs. Try coconut water. Potassium-rich, with electrolytes too. Carry a water bottle with you to the gym. Sip water all day long.
5.聽聽聽聽聽 Stretch and cool down.聽Stretching and cooling down makes your workout routine more efficient. Even after playing any recreational sport.聽Schedule about 5 to 10 minutes at the end of each workout for gentler movements and flexibility training. Bicycle slowly or walk in place. Perform a few static stretches. Move slowly and evenly. Hold each position without straining or bouncing.
6.聽聽聽聽聽 Pamper yourself.聽Get a massage! You deserve it. We work hard all week long. The body knows that. It will also appreciate a winding-down time just to allow relaxation and recovery.聽Book a session with a sports massage specialist or watch a video about how to perform a self-massage.聽Check out Groupon for local deals. You’ll be surprised how many good deals you can find in your area. You can go for a session for as low as $25, and establish a rapport with a licensed massage therapist where you can go regularly. They are great at giving you deals for other services too! There are many effective techniques you can use at home or anywhere.
7.聽聽聽聽聽 Practice visualization.Visualization and meditation can decrease pain without any harmful side effects. Sit down and imagine your breath soothing away all discomfort. There are many resources online, even videos on meditation and visualization. The point is to take time to give your body a break for healing and relaxation.
8.聽 聽 聽Try Cryotherapy.聽Cold treatment works with sore muscles, especially after intense activity. Cold packs, ice packs, corn syrup packs, ice massage. A point to remember, cold constricts. It causes vasoconstriction, or constriction of blood vessels.聽Ice works best when applied at the first sign of soreness. Protect your skin by wrapping a towel around an ice pack or a bag of frozen vegetables. A pillowcase also works great to really allow that coldness to reach deeper layers of the sore area.
9.聽聽聽聽聽 Use heat.聽Heat, especially in chronic cases can relieve soreness, aches, and pains better than ice. It is also a matter of personal preference. Some individuals get relief better with cold, some, with heat. Try which gives you the best relief.聽Heat may aggravate inflammation, but it also relaxes muscles and reduces spasms. After heat, I have advised patients to also finish it off with cold, for a few minutes. Take a warm bath or apply a heat pack. Ask your doctor about ultrasound and electrical current treatments. Below is an example of a heating pad. Check Amazon for many products. (I am not an affiliate of Amazon nor any of the sellers.)
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Tip: Start with a warm or hot bath. Finish it off with a cold shower for about 2-3 minutes, Works great for me after an intense tennis game with colleagues!
10.聽Check out a聽聽health food store.聽Consult your primary physician for supplements that are appropriate for your health status or other prescription medications you may be taking. Some people get positive results from certain herbs and vitamins. You may want to try vitamin E supplements or willow bark tea. Tell your doctor about any substances you use to ensure they鈥檙e suitable for you.
11.聽Take a pain reliever if necessary. Always consult your doctor.聽Many over-the-counter products provide quick relief. Aspirin and ibuprofen are often recommended because they treat both pain and inflammation. If you use pain-relieving creams, avoid tight bandages or heating pads to prevent skin irritation.
Some pain-relieving creams I use at the clinic: Biofreeze professional-grade, Sombra. There are myriads of brands you can try. Check Amazon. read the reviews. Some products I saw: Pain grenade, Arnicare, Blue Emu, Hemp Relief, Icy Hot, and others.聽
Regular physical activity helps you to live a longer and healthier life. You can get fit without any muscle soreness, but for occasional soreness due to over-activity, try these tips for some quick relief. As always, there’s always a physical therapist near you. They would give you good advice and directions. 馃檪
