When people think of debilitating injuries, their thoughts go to the big-ticket items like broken bones and concussions. It’s very rare that they will immediately think, ah, yes – sore muscles, which is a disservice to everyone because 1) muscle pain can be extreme and 2) it can affect anyone. The following points have been put together in order to help all of you suffering from muscular pain.
Heating and Cooling Aids
Regardless of which muscles in your body are sore, a failsafe tool that will always remedy the pain are heating and cooling aids. Applying either a heat pack or a cool pack to the muscular area that has been injured will do two things for the better. Firstly, it will relax and open the muscle making it easier to slowly regain movement in the area. Secondly, it will numb the area giving you a short release from the pain you’re sure to be experiencing in the area. A great resource when looking for reliable brands is www.optomo.com.au – they have an excellent variety of heating and cooling packs that can assist.
Stretching
Another excellent treatment you can give yourself when experiencing muscle soreness, is to stretch out the offending muscles. Again, regardless of where the particular muscle is located the gentle practice of slowly and gently stretching will allow the muscle to gain mobility. It’s highly important not to overdo this however – you don’t want to cause further damage. But holding small movements with gentle breathing several times a day will be very beneficial.
Remedial Massage
Likewise, giving the area in pain a remedial massage will assist the muscle even further. You don’t have to be an expert in muscular treatment in order to create a difference – gently massaging the offending areas with a heating or cooling gel will open the muscle up even further. This will both relieve you from the pain, whilst stimulating the muscles. Even the most stubborn of areas will slowly recover from a small massage every day.
Physical Aids
If however you feel that the pain is too strong for you to bear without further assistance, the next step is to purchase a physical aid for the area. The majority of the time this will come in the format of a brace or strapping device. Regardless of where in your body you’ve received a muscle injury, there will most certainly be a brace for it. These aids are especially useful because they both reduce pain for the wearer, and provide support for the injured muscle speeding up the recovery time.
Rest
Finally, the last and best thing you can do for a muscle injury is to rest it. Whether that means not exercising for a week, or laying down more frequently, or sitting down when you’re in pain rather than powering though – resting will help you recover more quickly. It’s an annoying part of the process, especially when you have things you perceive more important to do – but when you’re struggling with muscular soreness, it’s the best thing to do. Resting the offending muscle will take pressure off it, and allow it time to recover.
Muscular soreness is often a debilitating condition that affects not only the lifestyle of the sufferer, but the general well being. However if followed, the above steps should help remedy any future pain. Be sure to respond in the comments below if you have any secret tricks that remedy muscle soreness.
