Muscle Pain Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Understanding
Muscle pain or myalgia is pain that occurs in the muscles. Depending on the cause, muscle pain can be mild to severe and interfere with daily activities.
In some cases, sufferers of muscle pain can also feel other symptoms, such as fever, redness, nausea, vomiting, and others.
Symptom
Symptoms of muscle pain can occur in the muscles of any part of the body, but are more common in the neck, back, legs and arms. The pain can be mild to severe.
Often muscle pain can go away on its own within a few days, but it can also persist for up to several months.
Reason
Muscle pain can have many causes, but the most common ones are due to:
- Tension in the muscles.
- Overuse of muscles during physical activity.
- Injury to the muscles at work or playing sports.
In addition, several medical conditions can also cause muscle pain, namely the flu, lupus, muscle inflammation, and so on.
Diagnosis
To diagnose muscle pain, the doctor will carry out a physical examination and supporting examinations. Investigations are generally in the form of blood tests and X-rays.
Treatment
When experiencing muscle pain at home, you can take the following steps to help:
- Take pain relievers.
- Rest the sore muscle.
- Use an ice pack to reduce pain.
- Stretch the muscles slowly.
- Avoid excessive activity until the pain disappears.
Immediately see a doctor if the muscle pain makes it difficult for you to breathe, high fever, neck stiffness, rash, and experiencing severe muscle weakness. Also be alert if there are signs of infection and inflammation, such as swelling and redness in sore muscles, pain that does not go away with medication, and lasts more than 1 week.
Usually, the doctor will suggest pain relievers to treat muscle pain. If the cause is an infection, antibiotics can be given. However, if it is due to other reasons, the drug will be adjusted according to the cause.
Prevention
Prevent muscle soreness by taking the following actions:
- Exercise regularly, and don’t forget to warm up before exercising.
- Consume nutritious food.
- Avoid stress.
- Avoid excessive physical activity or exercise.