Why do Muscles Get Sore?

As people begin to age, they find that they tend to suffer from pain in their muscles and joints. As we age, without exercise we will “stiffen” up.

Research from Johns Hopkins Medical – shows that it is not the joints but the muscles and connective tissue surrounding the joint, which is the cause of the pain.

When we talk about flexibility, we are talking about the range of motion of a joint – going from full movement in other direction and then full movement in the other. So more movement – means the more flexible that a joint is.

Some people say if you can bend over and touch your toes, you have a certain amount of flexibility in your hip joints. This forward bend to touch your toes requires no exertion. If you have to expend maximum force to reach your toes, you are not really all that flexible.

In different joints and muscle, there are different factors that limit the range of movement and flexibility. For example the elbow and the knees have set limits because of their bony structure. Other joints such as the hips, ankle and back have a limited range of movement because of the muscle and connective tissue.

People who do not exercise and move the muscles and joints through there full range, may suffer some lose of movement. If you don’t move all joints regularly, you may find that you have pain and tightness in that joint when you try to move it. Massage can often help with sore or tight muscles.

Researchers now know that if you do not move your muscles, there will be a biochemical change in the tissue. This has been proven using laboratory animals that have had limbs immobilized.

There are other factors that can cause sore muscles.

 1. Over exercising

If you over exercise, you may find that you will get sore muscles in various parts of your body. To avoid this, start at a low to medium level and build up your intensity.

The muscles and connective tissue holds the body together. When the muscles start to ache, a lot of people want to stop exercising and go back to no exercise at all.

 2. Inactivity and Getting Older

Connective tissue binds muscle to bone by tendons, ligaments binds bone to bone, and covers and unites muscles with sheaths called fascia. With age, the tendons, ligaments, and fascia become less extensible. The tendons are the most difficult to stretch because of their dense fibers. The easiest to stretch are the fascia.

Stretching will prevent the fasciae from shortening. If the fascia shortens there will be pressure on the nerve pathways in the muscles.  When this happens, there will be aches and pains as a result of the nerve impulses travelling these pathways.

 3. Staying Immobile

If you have sore muscles or pain in the muscles, this may result in a cramp or an ache. This is what is known as splinting reflex. The body is automatically trying to protect that muscle by immobilizing it. This can really cause a person a great deal of pain.

When splinting reflex occurs, there will be a shortening of the connective tissue around the muscle. This will result in more pain and one area where this occurs is the lower back. Some people try lifting items that are too heavy and as a result the muscles react and the person suffers back ache.

 4. Regular Exercise

To avoid sore muscles, aches, pains, cramps or muscle spasm, you should exercise regularly.

Start out at a low level of intensity and as time goes by you can increase your output and this will increase your flexibility. One of the best exercises to gain flexibility and core strength is yoga. Through practicing yoga, on a regular basis, you will notice that you are moving freely and experiencing a better quality of life.

Yoga is an exercise, where as long as you are instructed on the correct positions, you should never injure yourself. It also requires that again you start gently and you will get more flexible the more you do the practice.

To maintain a healthy body free from muscle pain, it is advised to exercise at least 5 times per week between 30-60 minutes.

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