Causes of stiff and effective ways to overcome them

Healthy muscles allow you to move and move freely. However, excessive and improper use of muscles has the potential to cause body aches and pains. What does it feel like when you have aches and pains? Come on, see a complete explanation of one of the most common symptoms of musculoskeletal disorders, as well as various tips for overcoming them below.

Body aches and pains, a health condition experienced by many people

Almost everyone has experienced body aches and pains. In fact, not only once, maybe the conditions that attack this movement system often reappear. Aches and pains can occur in certain areas, for example in the legs only, hands only, neck only, or back or waist pain only.

However, this condition can also be felt all over your body, from mild to severe. Although the aches and pains may subside on their own or only occur for a short time, sometimes this condition can last for months.

Generally, aches and pains are related to pressure, overuse of muscles, or problems in the muscular system due to exercise or other physical activity that is carried out excessively. The pain usually starts when you do certain physical activities, or right after you stop doing it.

However, aches and pains can also be a sign that your body is experiencing a certain health condition. For example, infections or various other diseases that affect connective tissue throughout the body.

The cause of the body experiencing aches and pains

The causes of your body experiencing aches and pains vary. In fact, aches and pains in different areas may also be caused by different things. Here are some conditions that may cause your body to experience aches and pains:

1. Muscle injury

Muscle sprains or injuries that affect the tendons or ligaments, usually in the leg area, can be the cause of aches and pains. These muscle injuries also vary in severity. There are muscles that are only stretched, but some are torn partially or completely.

Typically, sprains or sprains can occur due to falls, involuntary twisting movements, or injuries during sports.

2. Excessive physical activity

Exercise is good for health and fitness. However, when doing it excessively, this activity has the potential to cause aches and pains.

This can also happen if you do work that forces you to do strenuous physical activity. Moreover, if you do the same movement repeatedly without variation and done to an extreme.

3. Bad posture

In daily activities, there are activities that you may without knowing it, give you the habit of practicing bad posture. In fact, this habit can cause pressure on certain muscles, causing the body to experience aches and pains.

For example, the habit of sitting with your back bent forward, or the habit of standing on one leg only, can cause aches and pains. To avoid this condition, it is important that you always practice good posture.

4. Stress

Both physical and mental stress both trigger pressure on the muscles in the body, so that without realizing it, your body will suddenly (reflex) protect the body from injury or pain.

This can cause the muscles to become tense so that aches and pains appear. However, after the stress subsides, slowly the aches and pains will disappear.

5. Improper position during sex

One of the causes of aches and pains is sexual intercourse, if the sexual position is wrong. Uncomfortable sex positions can put pressure on the muscles in certain parts of the body, causing aches and pains.

For example, sex positions that require you or your partner to fold and bend your body or hang and lift your legs. In addition, practicing a certain style of sex for too long can also make your body achy.

6. Other health problems

Apart from the aforementioned causes, there are also other health problems that can cause aches and pains, including:

• Hypothyroidism.
• Fibromyalgia.
• Chronic fatigue.
• Sleep disturbance.
• Muscle cramp.
• Rheumatoid arthritis.
• Ankylosing spondylitis.
• Infections, such as malaria or influenza.
• Autoimmune diseases, such as myositis and lupus.

Tips for dealing with body aches and pains

Even though aches and pains are a common condition that many people experience and can go away on their own, that doesn't mean you don't need to deal with this condition that often causes discomfort. There are several things you can do if you want to reduce it, namely:

1. Take pain relievers

Pain relievers that can be used to treat body aches are trusted drugs with an effective formula that contains ibuprofen and paracetamol.

The two ingredients of these drugs are relatively mild and safe when compared to other types of pain medications. They both work effectively complementary and can be used by anyone who has complaints of muscle pain or body aches.

These non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs act on receptors or sensory nerves, where they receive inflammatory stimuli (inflammation), pain, or soreness. If the sensory nerves receive signals for inflammatory stimuli, these drugs can block or prevent inflammation from occurring.

This occurs because ibuprofen and paracetamol inhibit the cyclooxygenation enzyme, thereby preventing the formation of prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are chemical substances that can trigger aches and pains in the body.

Pain relievers can usually be purchased over the counter at a pharmacy. However, they are not usually recommended for long-term use. If your condition does not improve immediately after taking these drugs, consult a doctor immediately.

2. Stretch muscles

One way to relieve aches recommended by the Family Doctor is to stretch the muscles. In principle, the more flexible a muscle is, the less likely it is that it will stiffen.

Therefore, do activities that can flex your muscles. However, make sure to do this activity slowly so as not to worsen aches, pains, and aches.

One of the easiest to do is stretching or muscle stretching because you can do it anytime and anywhere. Especially if you tend to move less each day from sitting too much.

3. Compress or soak in warm water

When used for continuous work, the muscles may be under a lot of stress. It might also happen when you don't move it enough. As a result, the muscles become tense, stiff, and feel painful.

To help relieve or overcome the aches that occur as a result of this, you can compress or soak in warm water. To compress, you can apply a warm compress to the area of ​​the body that feels sore for about 20 minutes.

This will certainly be useful for reducing soreness because the heat that penetrates the skin can help blood circulation to be smoother, so it is effective in reducing tension and pressure on the muscles.

Apart from applying a warm compress, you can also take a warm bath. This is even more powerful because it can hit almost any muscle in the body.

4. Swimming

Although exercising can cause aches and pains, certain sports can also be an alternative to relieve it. Generally, any type of exercise, if done properly, can help with aches and pains.

However, swimming is the most effective type of exercise to reduce soreness if it is done regularly. Things that must be considered when swimming is the choice of a swimming pool.

Better to swim in the pool indoor to reduce exposure to cold air and wind, because both of these have the potential to increase aches and pains.

5. Relaxation exercises

Stress can also cause your body to feel sore and uncomfortable. If this is the condition you are experiencing, relaxation exercises to relieve stress can be a powerful way to overcome it.

You can start this relaxation exercise by slowly inhaling from your nose. Then, spit it out by mouth, also slowly.

By doing this exercise, you can create calmer thoughts and feelings. Then, the breathing rate will also become smoother and the tense muscles will also relax. Do this activity repeatedly until you feel better.

6. Drink lots of water

Your body is mostly water. So, it's important to stay hydrated every day. Fluid needs can be met by drinking water, drinking fresh fruit juice, or eating fruits and vegetables.

If you feel this condition, one of the highly recommended tips to relieve it is to increase fluid intake. Water and mineral intake can nourish muscles, so they can work normally.

By continuing to meet your daily fluid needs, you can prevent this condition from getting worse.

7. Perform therapy or massage

One of the home remedies that can be done to relieve or treat this condition is massage. Even so, massage should only be done on certain parts of the body, such as the hands and feet.

However, if you feel sore in the shoulder and back area, avoid this treatment. The part of the body that should not be massaged is the spine, starting from the neck to the tailbone.

This is because you or the person massaging you do not necessarily know the health condition of your spine. Often times this warning is ignored, resulting in a shift in the bone and the pinched nerve.

You can do gentle massage with essential oils, reflexology (tightens pressure points on the feet, hands, and ears), shiatsu massage, or thai massage .

All therapies and massages aim to relax stiff muscles, improve blood circulation, and reduce stress, so they are effective for relieving aches and pains.

8. Take a break

As mentioned above, one of the conditions that may cause you to experience aches and pains is sleep disturbance. So that, to overcome this, you can get more rest, one of which is sleep.

When you are tired after a long day of work, you can overcome it by immediately getting to the bed to rest. This means, don't do too many other activities when you are in bed and try to sleep.

In order to sleep better, you can adjust the room temperature in advance. Don't let the room temperature get too hot or too cold as this can wake you up in the middle of the night.

Also make sure to find a comfortable position while sleeping. If your back hurts, you should sleep on your back. You can also sleep on your side by placing a pillow between your legs.