Muscle pain due to stress? This is how you get rid of it
Do you regularly suffer from stiff or painful muscles due to stress? Then unfortunately you are not the only one. Muscle pain due to stress is a common problem. Not surprising, because when you are stressed, your body prepares itself to take action and your muscles tense. When you are in 'stress mode' for a longer period of time, this leads to constant tension in your muscles. This ultimately causes you to experience muscle pain as a result of stress. Super annoying of course, but fortunately there are several things you can do to relieve muscle pain due to stress. In this blog we tell you what stress does to your muscles and how you can tackle this problem.
Stress in the body
When you experience stress, cortisol is released in your body. Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, ensures that you can quickly release energy, so that you can fight or flee in stressful situations. But in many stressful situations our body does not have to fight or flee at all and the cortisol produced is unnecessary. This causes the cortisol produced to accumulate in your body. If this happens often, it can lead to high cortisol levels in your body. This can have various consequences, including restlessness and lack of energy.
Do you experience stress for a longer period of time? Then there is not only excessive production of cortisol, but it also hinders your body's ability to recover. This results in physical symptoms such as sore muscles and muscle aches.
What does stress do to your muscles?
When you are stressed, your muscles tense. The connective tissue is pulled tighter around your muscles, making it harder for you to move. This increased muscle tension and limited freedom of movement can cause muscle pain. This mainly manifests itself in back pain, neck pain, tension between the shoulder blades and it can even lead to tension headaches. In addition, stress can cause you to adopt incorrect posture, because tense muscles affect your natural posture. In addition, stress symptoms such as fatigue and tense muscles around your chest and abdomen can make breathing more difficult.
Relieve muscle pain due to stress
If you suspect that the sore muscles are due to stress, it is a good idea to address this. It is important to ask yourself what the source of stress is and whether this situation can be changed. If this is not the case, it is important to have another outlet. In addition, the following ways can help you relieve muscle pain due to stress.
Move
If you regularly experience muscle pain due to stress, extra exercise can certainly help you. This not only ensures better blood circulation, which can reduce muscle pain, but it also reduces stiffness because your muscles become a lot stronger and more flexible. In addition, exercising is a great way to de-stress and clear your head. Endorphins are released during exercise, which can reduce stress and give you a feeling of happiness.
Meditate
Various to research show that meditation is a good exercise to relieve stress. Meditation offers deep relaxation for your body, calming your nervous system. It gives your body space to recover from stress and also helps reduce tension in your muscles. So, if you're looking for ways to reduce stress, meditation is definitely worth a try.
Relax
Relaxation is super important if you want to reduce tense muscles due to stress. By relaxing you can relieve tension in your muscles and reduce the negative effects of stress on your body.
You can do the following things to relax:
- Soak in a warm bath
- Reading a book
- To write
- Listen to music
- To walk
- Get a massage
- Breathing exercises
Sleep
A good night's sleep can significantly reduce tension in your body. When you sleep, your body has time to recover from all the stress and stimuli you have experienced during the day. It is important to get into a regular sleep rhythm. You can achieve this by always going to bed and getting up around the same time. It is also better not to sleep for more than 8 hours and not to crawl back into bed during the day. In addition, it is wise to completely relax half an hour before you go to sleep and not use your mobile phone, laptop or television. The blue light from these devices can disrupt your sleep.
Live healthy
A healthy lifestyle can help with muscle pain due to stress. Avoiding substances such as alcohol, nicotine and sugars play an important role in this. Alcohol can disrupt your sleep and cause dehydration, which can even worsen muscle pain. Although many people start smoking when they experience stress, it is better to avoid it. Smoking can cause a reduced oxygen supply, which makes your muscles less able to recover. This can also worsen muscle pain.
Remedies for sore muscles
In addition to the above methods to relieve muscle pain due to stress, it is possible to use special gels in creams to use.
Slimminglabs has an extensive range of products designed to support the muscles and joints. These products relieve painful conditions muscles and joints and promote flexibility.