Before we get into the best ways to manage myalgia, we should first discuss what it is and how it can affect any of us. Pain in a muscle or group of muscles is called myalgia. This pain can be caused by a condition that a Doctor could diagnose, or just from a person's daily routes. More or less it is the noun that describes muscle pain, which makes it a large topic to break down. Outside of medication, I recommend 5 ways you can deal with your soreness. They'll include some practical things, as well as some ideas you may or may not have thought of. The subject of muscle pain can range from inflammation, aches, stiffness to even sharp pains. Lets talk about how this range can affect people of all age groups, and how best we can help balance our well-being.
Working a strenuous job, actively playing a sport, old injuries, or even just plain old age. Our bodies can easily be overworked if not looked after properly. How we sit, walk, stand and even lay in bed can effect our joints and muscles. Lots of us hardly go about our day thinking about any of those things. Well....maybe we think about our beds. Then we get up the next day to complain how we slept. These machines that are our bodies, need to be maintained not just by eating right, but also by physical tune-ups now and then. Our best recommendations to help with your achy body may not be things you're use to adding to your agenda, but maybe you should consider them. None of us are getting any younger....
3 best ways to deal with myalgia
Our best ways may not be suitable for everyone. There are serious conditions that may not allow you to do some of what we I'm recommending. In any case, just take note of what you're able to do for yourself or with some help.
Stretch
People don't do this enough. I've been known to to lengths of time without stretching right after I get out of bed. It really is important to loosen your body after laying in bed for hours at a time. Some may hear the crackles and pops when they get out of bed already. Joints tend to stiffen up when they aren't moving, or especially when you're laying in a awkward position for a time. Adding a morning stretch to your regime will help with blood circulation. Breathing along with stretching in the morning is a fantastic way to start your day. If anything it'll give you your first boost before that first cup of coffee. There are plenty of 5 minute videos on Youtube that can give you ideas of how to stretch. Here is a video I picked up online featuring Joanna Sho a great morning stretch.
As she stated, stretching in the morning can really change your day. The joint motions, along with breathing techniques allow a sort of meditation to take place. I'm not the one to say I meditate, but the stretching does help if you're like me. While we all may not be capable of all the moves seen in this video, just try to stretch to your limit. Roll your wrists, point your toe and raise your arms over your head. Make this apart of your daily routine and enjoy the benefits.
Massage Aromatherapy
Clearly a massage just sounds nice. It does the trick of loosening up tense muscles, while allowing your mind and body to relax. Self massages and the even better spa massage come with lots of bodily benefits. While a basic oil massage can help with the following, using essential oils in which I'll share with you shortly, just takes things a step or two up. Some of the physical benefits of massage are:
- reduced muscle tension
- improved circulation
- stimulation of the lymphatic system
- reduction of stress hormones
- relaxation
- increased joint mobility and flexibility
- improved recovery of soft tissue injuries
While these are some benefits of any massage done right, adding essential oils that have muscle related properties should help even more. Our Joint Collection features 3 such body massage oil blends that includes essential oils catered to our muscles. Carrying anti-inflammatory properties that when absorbed can help with muscle pain. While you can use baby or olive oil for your massage, essential and carrier oils just provide way more goodies. One of the most widely used carrier oils used in the professional massage world is apricot kernel oil. Also found in our massage oil products. It carries plenty of skin vitamins that help with dark marks and oily skin.
Aromatically, the smells of these essential oils can help ease the mind and uplift your spirits. Those that carry a warming feeling like, black pepper, or peppermint are enjoyable as well. What you need to be careful about when using essential oils for an aromatherapy massage, is the dilution rate of your mix. Massage oils are diluted at a max rate of 3%. Any essential oil product that is made for your face should have no more than a 1% dilution. Thankfully today, there are a wide range of fantastic products in this market, were you do have to visit a spa to get the good oils. Visit our shop to find yours.
Buy new pillows and upgrade your mattress
You didn't think this would be on the list, but it needs to be. Mattresses should be replaced every 6-8 years. Though this isn't a a mandatory thing, the timeframe could be used as a guideline. What I've come to the realization is that people hold on to mattresses for years upon years. Getting use to "their" mattress and not thinking about replacing it until the springs are starting to poke out. A bad mattress can really work on your body over time. While also not helping with a peaceful rest. You may wake up with some discomfort, or even a bad attitude. The proper way to sleep is on your back. Like me, may people do not sleep this way. The reason we should sleep on out backs, is that in that position our spine is straight. People with arches in their back find it harder to sleep in this position. Finding the right mattress like one made to conform to your body is a must for healthy rest.
With some adjustments to your normal routine, you may find some other ways to help with myalgia. I highly recommend trying out one of our massage oil blends for your body. It'll also give you a reason to have someone provide you with a massage.