Overworked muscles? These are the causes, symptoms and treatment

Muscle strain is a common complaint that affects people of all ages and lifestyles. Whether you’re an active athlete, a busy professional, or just an everyday person, chances are you’ll have to deal with muscle strain at some point. In this article, we’ll delve deeper into the causes, symptoms, treatments, and prevention methods for muscle strain.

What causes overworked muscles?

There are two ways in which overloaded muscles can occur. The first way is an acute overload. This is a situation in which you overload a muscle or group of muscles at the same time through a specific action. In this case, you ask too much of your muscles at once. An acute overload can also occur by making an incorrect movement. The muscles then have to move in an unnatural way, which causes you to strain them.

A second way of overloading your muscles is through prolonged strain, which then turns into overload. Strain your muscles to make them stronger in the long run, like in a gym, that is not bad. It is bad if you strain them too much too quickly, because this results in overload. Think for example of training with heavier weights too quickly. A lack of rest between training sessions also causes long-term overload in the long run.

How to detect muscle overload

What are the symptoms of muscle strain? How do you recognize it in time? The symptoms of muscle strain vary in intensity. You can experience pain and stiffness of your muscles, but even cramps or painful, swollen muscles. The most common symptoms of muscle strain are:

• Muscle pain that lasts longer than five days.
• Pulling and nagging feeling in your muscles caused by a tense muscle.
• Headache, neckache and backache. These complaints are mainly caused by stress and an incorrect working posture.
• Damage to muscles due to unexpected movements, a fall or a blow.

What to do when your muscles are overloaded?

How can you prevent your muscles from overloading? Fortunately, there are several options to treat overstrained musclesThe best thing you can do when you notice your muscles are overloaded is to do enough take a rest. Rest gives you time to see which muscles are sore and what the damage is. It also ensures that you do not suffer permanent damage. Other things that help with overworked muscles are:

• A massage ensures an improved flow of oxygen and nutrients to the muscles and the removal of waste products.
• Heat, because this provides pain relief and helps relax the muscles.
• If you have a bruise or sprain, coolness is the remedy.

How long can a muscle be overloaded?

How long does it take to recover from muscle strain? How long the symptoms last depends partly on the severity of your symptoms. If you are quick to recognize the symptoms, you can also start recovering more quickly. On average, you could say that the symptoms last from a few days to a few weeks. In the case of serious strain, the recovery process can take months. Think of a tear in a tendon or muscle, for example.

Can you prevent muscle strain?

You can prevent acute stress in particular by using a warm up as a cool-down.Stretching and stretching exercises can really help the muscles. In addition, good guidance is also important, especially in the beginning. If you do not adopt a good posture or you learn the wrong technique, then the chance of injuries is enormous. Also use the right materials. For example, if you are running, it is important that you wear the right shoes to overloading your ankles, feet, knees and shins.