Muscles are organs of the human body that are made up of muscle tissue. They allow a person to perform body movements and contract under the influence of nerve impulses. The term "myalgia" is used to describe a symptom that is expressed by muscle pain. It can be triggered by a variety of factors, which will be discussed in this article.
Myalgia occurs when moving or pressing on muscles. It can affect one or several muscles at once. Painful sensations may affect ligaments and tendons located nearby. If you want to know why the muscles in your body hurt and how to relieve muscle pain, contact the CELT Pain Clinic. Our doctors will conduct a diagnosis and find out the reason why you are experiencing discomfort. In accordance with it, treatment will be prescribed, which will definitely be effective.
At CELT you can get advice from a specialist algologist.
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Muscle fatigue
In our technological age, many people are gradually forming a new “bad habit”. Spending most of the day in front of a computer screen or holding mobile gadgets in our hands, we may not even notice that we are sitting in a completely uncomfortable and unnatural position. It especially affects the muscles of the shoulder girdle, neck, back and right arm, which is constantly on the computer mouse of office workers1. Staying in one position for a long time or using stereotyped movements can lead to overstrain of the muscles involved, which we feel as soreness1.
Infectious pathologies
When the muscles of the whole body ache, infectious and inflammatory processes should be assumed. Typically, such conditions are accompanied by the following symptoms:
- increased body temperature;
- chills;
- weakness and feeling of loss of strength;
- headache;
- decreased appetite;
- symptoms of the underlying disease from the respiratory, digestive or urinary systems.
The main diagnostic criterion is fever. If it is detected, the presence of an infectious pathology should be assumed. Myalgia is concentrated mainly in the back of the neck, back, shoulders and hips.
Exercise stress
“Body aches” after physical activity can occur both in untrained people and in professional athletes8. And the cause of discomfort is the accumulation of under-oxidized metabolic products in muscle cells; in particular, painful sensations are caused by an excessive amount of lactic acid (lactate)2. Less commonly, the cause is microtrauma, but this can only occur if the training rules are violated8.
Muscle soreness due to overwork does not occur immediately, but after a few hours or within 1-2 days after training or unusual physical activity and disappears within a week8.
Causes of pain in leg muscles
Muscle pain (myalgia) in the legs is quite varied and is associated with various types of diseases. One of the most common causes is vascular disease, which is accompanied by swelling and fatigue of the legs, dull pain and ultimately leads to varicose veins.
Also, pain in the leg muscles can be a consequence of problems with the spine. Various pathologies of the spine, such as sciatica or herniated intervertebral discs, can cause radiating pain - pain that radiates to the legs. In this case, there may be no pain in the spine itself. Pain in the leg muscles can also be caused by stereotypical sedentary or standing work, thrombophlebitis (vascular disease), atherosclerosis of the arteries, joint diseases, flat feet, peripheral nerve diseases, infectious bone diseases, prolonged muscle strain and excessive physical activity.
With myositis, pain in the leg muscles is most severe, their intensity increases with movement. Myositis can occur as a complication after various diseases; it can also be caused by injuries, physical overexertion, or muscle damage by parasites. Sometimes myositis occurs as a complication after suffering from the flu.
Fibromyalgia often affects the thigh area near the knee joint. This disease often affects women, and the cause can be both rheumatic diseases and long-term living in damp conditions, psychological and physical stress, injuries and even sleep disorders.
Injuries
Severe pain can occur when muscle fibers and tendons are torn. This usually happens if the load is excessive and the muscles are not prepared for it1. But they can also be damaged by sudden movements3. Unlike “ache” due to muscle overwork, pain due to injury occurs immediately, at the peak of the load3.
It should be remembered that even a small, but untreated injury can cause an even more severe sprain3. Therefore, if you experience pain during physical activity, be sure to consult a doctor to rule out a serious injury.
to come back to the beginning
Neuropsychic exhaustion
Sometimes the cause of muscle pain is nervous exhaustion. During the examination, doctors do not find any organic pathology, since the trigger is emotional instability.
Such patients experience the following symptoms:
- increased anxiety;
- irritability;
- insomnia;
- breathing problems;
- arrhythmia;
- decreased sex drive, etc.
In such a situation, a consultation with a psychotherapist is required. The doctor will create an effective treatment program.
Diseases of the spine and joints
Muscles react to disruption of the joints4 and vertebrae5 associated with them. Therefore, myalgia is one of the symptoms of diseases of the spine5,11 and joints of the limbs4. For example, with osteochondrosis or scoliosis (curvature of the spine), pain in the neck, chest or lower back is associated with overstrain of the paravertebral muscles5,11. And in advanced cases, when the vertebra compresses the nerve root emerging from the spinal cord, the pain can “radiate” to the arm or leg11.
Often myalgia with osteochondrosis is combined with a feeling of numbness or “crawling goosebumps”. At the moment of acute pain, a person freezes, taking a forced position11.
What could it be related to?
In this regard, the level of anxiety increases, not only the nervous system, which prepares the body for extreme situations, begins to be involved, but also the humoral one. The endocrine system, to which the brain gives orders to increase the production of hormones, together with the nervous system acts on all organs and tissues. But there is no extreme situation, but a malfunction in the brain continues to produce erroneous information. Due to prolonged exposure to erroneous brain signals, hormonal resources begin to deplete. Accordingly, a hormonal imbalance occurs, which is reflected in blood tests. Due to the constant increased “stress readiness” of organs, physiological changes in tissues and organs begin to occur. Therefore, a person begins to find signs of various pathologies, and the brain, “confused,” confirms. This person begins to visit a variety of doctors and receive treatment. But, if you do not remove the cause that led to these disorders, then, naturally, treatment will be meaningless.
Therefore, if you feel heaviness in your body or limbs, you should definitely consult a good psychotherapist who can find the true cause of brain disorders and provide effective help. Diseases associated with the manifestation of a feeling of heaviness in the body or limbs and accompanied by various somatic manifestations are called psychosomatic diseases and are treated by a psychotherapist using complex techniques, which should be selected only individually, taking into account the individual parameters of the body’s development.
Other reasons
Almost any disease of the internal organs can lead to myalgia11. When an organ is affected, it creates pain impulses that are partially transmitted to the muscles located nearby11.
Myalgia can also be caused by:
- endocrine diseases, such as thyroid hormone deficiency16,7;
- vascular pathologies that disrupt the nutrition of the muscles of the limbs15,16;
- chronic fatigue syndrome7;
- imbalance of microelements in the body16;
- taking medications that lower blood cholesterol levels12.
to come back to the beginning
Treatment
To select effective therapy, it is necessary to determine the cause of pain. This will allow you to choose a medicine for a speedy recovery. The doctor will conduct an examination, prescribe laboratory and instrumental examinations, identifying the provoking factor.
The following are used as symptomatic therapy:
- analgesics in tablets (“Nise”, “Next”, “Solpadeine”);
- pain-relieving ointments (“Apizartron”, “Vipratox”, “Naftalgin”);
- local application of cold;
- massage and therapeutic exercises during remission.
For effective therapy, you can contact a rehabilitation treatment clinic, where the exact cause of myalgia will be determined. Here the patient will be under constant supervision of medical personnel and will be able to receive advice from a doctor of any profile.
Features of myalgia
Pain emanating from the muscles is usually deep6. Acute myalgia is protective in nature because it causes reactions aimed at eliminating the damaging factor11. Such reactions include, for example, muscle spasms4. But despite its protective nature, there is almost always a risk that the pain will become chronic11. There are 2 main causes of chronicity:
- Increased sensitivity. In response to irritation, the muscle releases substances that support inflammation. They further irritate pain receptors in the muscles. In response to frequent signals, the central nervous system lowers the pain threshold, so we can feel soreness in the muscle even when it is not strongly irritated11.
- Spasm. If pain and spasm persist, a “vicious circle” is formed: pain causes spasm, and spasm maintains pain1,5, 11.
Etiology
At the first manifestation of symptoms, it is necessary to immediately determine the provoking factor. Usually myalgia accompanies acute or chronic diseases. You can independently find out why all your muscles hurt by analyzing your condition over the past few days or months.
Clinicians distinguish 7 groups of such diseases - these are the causes of muscle pain:
- fibromyalgia;
- infectious pathologies;
- myositis;
- dermatomyositis;
- muscle injuries;
- lactic acidosis;
- neuropsychic exhaustion.
Let us consider in more detail the features of the symptoms of each disease and the provoking factors of their development.
Diagnosis of muscle pain
Determining why myalgia occurs is not always easy. Only a doctor can understand the causes and select treatment that helps get rid of disturbing symptoms or alleviate them. To find out the cause of myalgia, the doctor conducts a comprehensive examination, including a neurological one, prescribes laboratory tests, ultrasound, computed tomography and other research methods3.
Various specialists treat myalgia. Depending on its cause, a traumatologist, rheumatologist, neurologist or endocrinologist can help you.
Treatment of muscle pain in the legs using UVT
Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (SWT) is a method that emerged from lithotripsy, a method of crushing gallstones and kidney stones, and immediately gained wide popularity. For UVT, a special device is used that generates an infrasonic wave. The sound wave, penetrating deep into the tissues of the affected area of the body, activates regeneration processes, increases blood flow - blood microcirculation, and increases the permeability of cell membranes. UVT also has anti-inflammatory and anti-edematous effects.
The advantage of this treatment method is that there is no need for hospitalization. ShT is prescribed only on an outpatient basis, the course of treatment is usually 5-7 sessions of 10-15 minutes each. SWT, as a non-surgical method, does not have any side effects that can be observed with surgical intervention. Contraindications for prescribing UVT are malignant tumors, pregnancy and some cardiac diseases.