Tension is mostly dysfunction of muscles or muscle groups. However, tension can also occur in the muscles due to pinched nerves and drafts. Typical areas for this are above all the neck and the back. Tension can severely restrict the freedom of movement in everyday life. Massages, warm baths and sports help to eliminate and prevent tension.
What is tension?
The benefits of massage include: promoting blood circulation, relaxing muscles, relieving pain, and providing mental relaxation. Tension is defined as either disturbances in the coordination or cooperation of muscles. It is not a short spasm, but a long-lasting pain that can vary in intensity. The muscles of the human body are antagonist pairs: this means that one muscle must expand at a time in order for the other to contract. The movement is released when the pairs of muscles perform the same action with reversed roles. The tension is created by one of the two muscles intensifying its normal base tension while the other relaxes – this state lasts for a long time and can be painful.
Causes
Tension occurs for a variety of reasons. Muscles can acquire unhealthy tension from physical-mechanical causes, but also from psychological triggers. Mechanical tension results from the body having been exposed to an unhealthy posture. When sitting, for example, it often happens that this causes the back to become very tense. This is due to the fact that the person sits in an unnatural way, and as a result the position of the muscles has to change. The length of this different position eventually causes the tension. The same applies to all other muscle groups, such as the neck in combination with working too long at the computer. Another physical cause is miscoordinated pairs of antagonists. One muscle of the pair may be underdeveloped, which can happen, for example, due to low strain. In this case, the main load is on the other muscle of the pair, which tenses accordingly. Stress is another reason for tension. When this happens, the person’s posture changes, which is usually not a problem because the stress should quickly go away. However, if it does not, as often happens in everyday working life, a painful tension develops. The neck and shoulder muscles are particularly often affected.
Diseases with this symptom
- Muscle stiffness
- Burnout syndrome
- Muscle strain
- Impingement syndrome
- Skeletal dysplasia
- Scoliosis
When should you go to the doctor?
Tension does not require a visit to the doctor. Often, the affected person can help himself with pain ointments, red light applications or massages. However, things can be different if the tension leads to restricted movement, severe pain or visual disturbances. In this case, medical clarification is necessary. It must be determined why the tension has caused such effects. Tension can also be a trigger for tinnitus. In this case, it makes sense to consult a physiotherapist or osteopath. This person can determine the location of the tension and manually release the blockage. In the case of severe tension-related complaints, a doctor can use a local pain injection to ensure that no relieving posture develops. One-sided stress at work or incorrect posture can lead to chronic tension over many years. In such cases, visits to an orthopedist may be necessary. The causes of the tension must be determined and, if possible, eliminated. Leg length discrepancies or age-related foot problems, unsuitable furniture or other causative factors can be eliminated by the affected person. Chronic tension may also indicate a poor mattress. If the tension pain persists despite all measures, pain therapy should be considered. There are special pain therapists for this. Here, sufferers often experience being treated with strong painkillers. Many were actually developed for completely different clinical pictures. Whether this is an appropriate solution, everyone should judge for themselves.
Treatment and therapy
You can treat tension yourself with simple hand acupressure. Click to enlarge.There are many different treatments for tension. One can first treat symptomatically to relieve the pain – however, the goal should be to correct the cause in order to counteract the tension permanently. To treat the tension itself, it is recommended to apply a pain ointment. This can mask the pain, at least for a short time, until another treatment method is used. It is also helpful to take warm showers or visit the sauna to keep the tense muscle warm. This relieves the pain of the tension after some time. In the case of purely physical causes, physiotherapy is recommended. This can help especially if an antagonist pair has developed unhappily. Massage, gymnastics or swimming exercises can be used to target the weaker muscles. In this way, they relieve the tense muscles and ensure that the load is distributed more evenly. Relaxation methods such as yoga exercises or shiatsu help to reduce psychological stress. This can relieve tension in the long run.
Outlook and prognosis
Tension can be acute or chronic. It can cause different secondary complaints. The prognosis for an individual case of tension depends on these and on the causes. Many tensions caused by stress can be relieved by more exercise and targeted sports exercises. Our modern life contains many stress factors. Many people are busy for hours with one-sided work in unnatural postures. Many citizens take problems and worries with them into their sleep. Permanent and chronic tension is therefore an increasing problem in health care. Tension-induced dizziness, neck, back or headaches triggered by tension can be treated with red light, physiotherapeutic exercises, relaxation therapies and pain ointments. Tension in the legs can be improved with magnesium or rest. However, it would be more important to identify and eliminate the cause of the tension than to combat the symptoms. Ergonomic office furniture can be helpful. If the tension is due to degenerative changes in the skeleton, the prognosis is worse. Tension arising from Parkinson’s disease also tends to have a poor prognosis. They usually develop further into motor disorders and movement restrictions.
Prevention
To prevent tension, care should be taken to provide an all-around healthy work environment. An ergonomically shaped chair and regular relaxation exercises during work should be basic requirements. Conscious training of the muscle groups used is also helpful. By strengthening them beforehand, tension cannot develop in the first place and you stay healthy.
This is what you can do yourself
A number of home remedies and measures help with tension. Mild tension in the neck and shoulder area can usually be relieved by heat and relaxation. Effective are for example hot water bottles and cherry pit cushions, but also electric heating pads and infrared lamps. A hot shower or relaxing bath promotes blood circulation and loosens the muscles. Massages have the same effect and can be applied with lavender oil or olive drops, among other things, for a better effect. Other home remedies for tension include anti-inflammatory ginger, barley grass and pain-relieving peppermint. There are also some effective medicinal herbs such as menthol, arnica, rosemary or camphor. Accompanying this, the tense area can be rubbed with warm olive oil or apple cider vinegar. In the long term, tension can be reduced through sport and stretching exercises. Those who sit a lot should always incorporate walks into their daily routine and also stand up in a way that is easy on the back. In addition, possible causes of tension should be eliminated. A back-friendly office chair, for example, can reduce posture-related shoulder and neck pain. Stress-related tension can be relieved through relaxation. If these measures do not have the desired effect, a visit to the doctor is recommended for further clarification.
