Muscle hardening or myogelosis is a hardening in the area of a wide variety of muscles. This results in painful hardening, which can appear noticeably as knots or bulges. A doctor should be consulted only in case of severe pain and repeated occurrence. As a home remedy for muscle hardening, heat treatments such as sauna or warm baths are recommended. Light massages are also helpful as a treatment.
What is muscle stiffness?
Physical therapy is especially beneficial for sports injuries. Muscle stiffness is loosened, lactate is reduced, strains and small muscle tears are detected and treated early. Muscle hardening or myogelosis is a severe and usually painful tension of the muscles. It occurs in most cases during excessive sports activities. Such an overload leads to a permanent tension of the muscles. However, muscle stiffness can also result from pinching of nerves or arthritis. Athletes in particular are certainly familiar with this or similar situations: after a strenuous long-distance run or marathon, shortly before crossing the finish line, you suddenly feel a sharp stabbing pain in your thigh, lower leg or calf. However, muscle hardening can also occur in the upper arms in the back or in the shoulder area. In many cases, the pain subsides after a short recovery period. But a muscle hardening can also last for a long time and become a great pain.
Causes
But how does such a muscle hardening occur? Muscle hardening is caused by a long-lasting, strong tension of the muscle fibers. This tension causes the muscle fibers to strongly compress the fine capillaries in the muscles. This restricts the blood supply to them and causes inflammation, which causes the muscles to tense strongly. This in turn is the cause of the cramp-like pain in the affected areas of the body. This is referred to as muscle hardening.
Symptoms, complaints and signs
Muscle hardening can be felt on the one hand. Affected people feel partly rock-hard muscle parts. In addition to these clearly palpable signs, numerous symptoms speak for muscle hardening. Pain in the area of the hardened muscle can take various forms. For example, the pain can be felt as both dull and biting. Hardened muscles in the jaw area, for example, provide a dull pressure sensation for some sufferers. Others report pain that shoots in and out over and over again. Hardened muscles in the neck can cause discomfort in the back as well as lead to headaches. Depending on where muscles are hardened, however, the complaints can also be very diffuse and are accordingly not always clearly attributable to the actual hardened muscle. Problems with the chest muscles, for example, can also manifest themselves in unclear abdominal complaints and also cause digestive problems. Precisely because the symptoms of muscle tension can be very different, a careful diagnosis is very important. On the one hand, complaints caused by hardened muscles rarely get better on their own without targeted treatment. The stressed muscles tend to harden more and more and thus cause increasingly severe complaints. On the other hand, especially if the symptoms persist, it must be promptly ruled out that the complaints stem from another organic disease.
Disease progression
If a muscle hardening lasts for several days despite the home remedies mentioned below and the preventive measures, a doctor should be consulted in any case, because it could also be a nervous disease. After a medical examination, the loosening and relaxation of the muscles can be promoted with anti-inflammatory drugs or magnesium preparations. If the doctor does not find any other medical cause, the development of muscle hardening is usually due to too strong or one-sided training. In this case, the training program should be thoroughly analyzed so that the reason for overloading the muscles can be determined. Subsequently, the training must be changed so that the muscles are loaded evenly and a renewed muscle hardening is avoided.
Complications
Due to the muscle hardening, the affected person primarily suffers from very severe and, above all, stabbing pain. This pain can thereby significantly reduce and limit the quality of life of those affected. Likewise, there are also restrictions in everyday life, whereby the performance of certain work or sports is no longer possible without further ado due to the muscle hardening. The exercise of the profession can also be limited by the muscle hardening. Furthermore, pain at rest at night can lead to considerable sleep disturbances and thus to depression or to a general irritability of the patient. Furthermore, movement restrictions also occur. The exact restrictions and complications in the case of muscle hardening also depend greatly on the affected muscle. Particularly in the case of further heavy strain, muscle hardening can lead to significant pain and further consequential damage. In case of permanent pain, a doctor should be consulted in any case for this reason. The treatment of muscle hardening is usually done with the help of massages or by heat treatments. There are no further complications or complaints and in most cases the disease progresses positively. The patient’s life expectancy is also usually not limited or reduced by the muscle hardening.
When should you see a doctor?
Muscle stiffness does not always require medical attention. In a large number of cases, sufferers can achieve relief from the symptoms without the assistance of a doctor. An adequate supply of heat as well as the consumption of sufficient non-alcoholic fluids will lead to an improvement in the discomfort. The affected person should take it easy on his organism as a whole and not expose it to renewed strong strains. Incorrect postures and a crooked body posture should also be avoided. The areas of muscle hardening can be loosened up with the fingers or other aids using circular movements. In addition, it is recommended to practice sports that contribute to a better supply of the muscle fibers and a balance through the general movements. For example, swimming can provide relief and freedom from symptoms. If the muscle hardening persists or continues to increase despite all efforts, a doctor should be consulted. If the affected person does not manage to achieve a significant improvement in his or her health within a few days, or if further complaints develop, he or she needs help. Headaches, sleep disturbances, and a permanent misalignment of the pelvis or shoulders may occur and need to be treated. In particular, damage to the skeletal system can lead to manifestation of impairments that have lifelong consequences.
Treatment and therapy
The most appropriate method to counteract muscle hardening that has already occurred is heat treatment and sauna. Thus, warm or hot baths, warm compresses or the targeted application of a hot water bottle on the cramped areas are highly recommended. Heat promotes blood circulation and eases even severe tension. A very helpful measure against muscle hardening is also a massage of the hardened muscles. During an existing muscle hardening, the usual training load should be reduced in any case. Sporting activities despite a muscle hardening can lead to an aggravation and in the worst case further damage the muscle.
Outlook and prognosis
Muscle stiffness offers a good prognosis. The condition can be treated with massage, rest, and targeted physical therapy. Often, muscle stiffness resolves on its own. Until then, rest and avoidance of strenuous activities apply so as not to jeopardize recovery. The quality of life is limited by the muscle hardening, but patients can continue to go about their usual daily lives without any major restrictions. Even sporting activities do not have to be completely discontinued, as long as sufficient rest is ensured. The prognosis is worse in the case of recurrent muscle stiffness. Occasionally, there is a serious underlying muscle disease that must first be treated. The decisive factor for the prognosis is the elimination of the causes of the muscle hardening. Medication and lifestyle changes contribute to rapid resolution of muscle stiffness.Acute pain is relieved by means of pain therapy, trigger point therapy or other typical treatment methods. The therapy aims to stimulate blood circulation and resolve the hardening of the muscles. The exact prognosis is made by the general practitioner or sports physician with regard to the severity of the muscle hardening. The triggers must also be included in the prognosis.
Prevention
The benefits of massage include: promoting circulation, muscle relaxation, pain relief, and mental relaxation. But it doesn’t have to take a full-blown muscle stiffness to get there. There are some helpful tips to prevent muscle stiffness. Even if it is still cold outside, athletes should always drink enough fluids. Sometimes muscle stiffness is also caused by a magnesium deficiency in the body. Therefore, it is recommended to take a magnesium tablet dissolved in water every day. Proper warm-up training before any sporting activity also counteracts muscle hardening, because it stimulates muscle activity. Especially when a marathon or other major sports event is coming up, you should warm up sufficiently and stretch your muscles. Wearing the right clothing also prevents muscle stiffness. If the body sweats a lot during heavy exertion, the clothing should not be too airy, because when sweating, the body cools down very quickly. This damages the muscles. Therefore, experts recommend warmer clothes, because the blood circulation is promoted by the heat.
Aftercare
In the case of a muscle hardening, in most cases only a few and also only very limited measures of a direct aftercare are available to the affected person, whereby in the first place a quick and above all a very early diagnosis of this disease is necessary. Therefore, the affected person should ideally consult a physician at the first signs and symptoms of the disease in order to prevent the occurrence of further complications and complaints. In most cases, patients are required to be on bed rest, and the affected muscles should be spared. Strenuous or physical activities should be discouraged so as not to put unnecessary strain on the body. In many cases, patients are therefore dependent on the help and support of their own family. Loving conversations can have a positive effect on the psychological condition of the affected person. Furthermore, the measures of physiotherapy and physiotherapy are often necessary. Here, many of the exercises can also be repeated at home, which significantly increases the mobility of the affected person. The muscle hardening does not reduce the life expectancy of the affected person and can usually be relatively well treated again.
Here’s what you can do yourself
In the case of muscle hardening, it is first important to reduce or completely stop sports activities. To quickly relax the affected muscle again, short stretching exercises are recommended. However, this should never go to the pain threshold, as serious damage to the tissue can occur here under certain circumstances. Relaxation is then appropriate. Any kind of stress can worsen the condition or slow healing. A 15-minute bath with warm water quickly relaxes the muscles. Warming compresses from the pharmacy also thoroughly loosen the muscle. Other heat treatments include sauna sessions and red light exposure. Depending on the weather, sun exposure can also relieve pain. Local massages on the affected muscles are another way to relieve tension. In addition, anti-inflammatory ointments can be gently massaged in to relieve pain. This is particularly recommended in the evening, shortly before going to bed. It is important to consume sufficient fluids throughout the self-treatment to allow the tension to subside. For longer-term success against muscle stiffness, on the other hand, a balanced magnesium balance in the body is the best treatment and preventive measure. Magnesium preparations and foods with a particularly high magnesium content are ideally suited for this purpose.
