How to get rid of muscle pain without the help of a doctor

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-13 00:26

Simple exercises can help relieve discomfort and relax your body.

Muscles can ache for various reasons: from overloading after training, stretching or being in the same position for a long time.

If the pain does not go away for a long time, you first need to find out if its source is precisely in the muscles. Only a doctor can carry out a high-quality diagnosis.

When you are convinced of the cause of the discomfort, but treatment with drugs prescribed by a specialist did not help, you can resort to self-medication. The life hacker talks about several ways to reduce pain: reduce muscle tension, relax the body, and warm up with tennis balls.

Stretching exercises

Why is it so comfortable to stand on a certain leg, and when sitting down, people often throw their hands behind their heads? The body is always trying to choose a position that will relieve tension in overworked muscles.

By changing the position of the body, you can heal yourself. This is done by a special section of manual medicine - orthobionomy. You choose a certain position in which the ends of the affected muscles and ligaments are brought together as close as possible, which reduces their tension and pain. The state must be held for one and a half minutes, then slowly return to its original position. During this time, the flow of intense nerve signals from the muscles to the brain decreases and the tension decreases.

The exercises should be repeated three to four times a day until the pain subsides.

If the pelvis and lower back hurt

Lie on your stomach on the bed so that one leg and part of the pelvis hang down from it.

This position opens the sacroiliac joint, relieves pressure in it and stretches its ligaments.

If the thoracic spine hurts

Most people are constantly slouched, which causes the thoracic spine to bend strongly forward. To stretch it and relax it, you need to bend as much as possible, or induce hyperextension. There are several ways.

On the bed

Simple version with slight hyperextension and traction. You will need a thick, oblong pillow. Lie on it so that it is located along the back and in the middle of the spine. Stretch your arms and legs. In this position, the spine straightens and unbends, reducing the pressure on the intervertebral discs.

With a gymnastic ball

To stretch more, you need a gym ball. Lie on your back and lean back.

Be careful not to lose your balance or fall when doing this exercise.

Using the table

Choose a high, stable table and sit a short distance from it. A regular table will work, but then it is better to sit on a low stool or kneel to increase the difference in height.

Bend your elbows and place them on the table. Bend over, dropping your chest down. Stay in this position.

With the help of the wall

You can use a wall instead of a table. Sit on your knees opposite her and rest your arms outstretched. Bend over.

If your whole back hurts

A universal option for relaxing the entire back is the embryo pose. In it, the ligaments of the spine and the dura mater are stretched, due to the tension of which we feel stiffness.

Lie on your back. Place your chin against your chest. Bend your legs, press to your stomach and wrap your arms around. Then gently rock back and forth for one and a half minutes.

Isometric exercises

When a person moves, his muscles contract and shorten. But there may be no change in size - such a reduction is called isometric. It occurs under constant static load - for example, when we lift and hold a weight.

Isometric loads normalize muscle tone, so they are often used to relax and strengthen muscles. To relieve pain, the tension is held for 2-3 seconds and the exercises are repeated six to eight times.

If your neck hurts

The neck (or rather, its suboccipital muscles) can ache due to the incorrect position of the head when it is brought forward and thrown back. Most often, in this position, we look at the smartphone. Overstrain of the suboccipital muscles causes headaches, reduces visual acuity, impairs attention and memory, since blood outflow is impaired.

To relax the painful area, tilt your head and clasp your hands at the back of your head. Press the back of your head back, while resisting yourself so that the head remains in the same position. Hold the tension for 2-3 seconds for eight sets. After that, it is important not to let go of your hands abruptly and not to throw your head back.

There are several variations in the exercise.

Tilted

Tilt your head to your left shoulder and rest your right hand on your head near your ear. Try to lean towards the opposite shoulder, resisting yourself with your hand.

In this case, the head should not move. Hold the tension for 2-3 seconds. Then repeat the same on the opposite side.

In the turn

Turn your head to the left. Place your right hand on your head so that your palm is in front of your ear. Try to turn your head to the right and resist yourself. Repeat on the opposite side.

For deep neck flexors

For greater effect, you can stimulate the deep flexors of the neck, which are usually inactive, since the head is already tilted all the time due to the stoop. Lower your head to your chest and place your fist between your sternum and chin. Press your chin into your fist and hold the tension for 2-3 seconds.

If the thoracic back hurts

Sit in a chair. Orient yourself to the left and grab the back of the chair with your right hand. Try to turn to the right, while resisting yourself, pulling your body to the back with your right hand.

If the lower back hurts

You can relax your lower back while standing and lying down.

Standing

Stand up and put your hand on your side. Move your body towards your hand and resist the latter. Hold the tension for 2-3 seconds. Repeat eight times on one side and the other.

Lying down: the first option

Lie sideways on the bed. Bend your lower leg slightly, and hang your upper leg. For a more visible stretch, grab the edge of the bed with your upper hand. Stretch with your upper arm, turning the body, and lift your upper leg towards the head. Repeat several times.

Lying down: second option

Lie in the same position, bend both legs and hang from the bed. To prevent you from falling, only your feet, shins and a small part of the thigh just above the knee should go over the edge. Raise your feet and hold the tension for about 5 seconds. Relax again and let your feet sink. Repeat three to four times.

To improve the effect, you can grab the edge of the bed with your hands, stretching the body.

Kneading muscles

Kneading muscles and their membranes, fascia, with the help of special devices is called myofascial release. This effect improves blood supply and lymph flow, and also removes painful seals - triggers.

For these purposes, applicators are used: rolls (elongated elastic cylinders) and rubber balls, smooth or with spikes. All equipment is sold in sports stores.

You can also make the applicator yourself from two tennis balls held together with tape.

To relax the muscles in your neck, and especially the suboccipital region, lie on the floor. Place a bunch of balls under the occipital-cervical junction. Lie in this position for 1-2 minutes, pressing the back of your head on the balls and slightly rolling back and forth. Due to this effect, the muscles will stretch and relax. In the same way, you can stretch the thoracic and lumbar spine.