5 Easy Ways to Treat Muscle Aches, Pains, and Inflammation

When you work too hard you can easily strain a muscle. And because you know you work hard, you should probably have a few tricks up your tank-top to help ease muscle strain, pain, and inflammation.

Well we’ve got something for you. Five different muscle pains and how to treat them, from a pain-in-the-lower-back to a charley horse we’re presenting the best ways to treat the most common muscle strains.

Minor Muscle Strain

When you lift something awkwardly, or have to bend or jerk your body radically and you feel a pang in your muscle it can be painful to immobilizing. Even just reaching too far can get you. The best option here is R.I.C.E.: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

Ice for 20 minutes, wrap in a compress bandage (even a towel wrapped tightly will do), and elevate to take down swelling.

Sore Knees

Knees and ankles take a lot of stress all day long. Especially if you’re a runner. Proper shoes are key, but if you have knee pain it could be serious. If there is a sharp pain every time you walk definitely go see a doctor. Continuing physical activity after you’ve discovered knee pain is a way to guarantee further injury.

In his article How to Exercise with Sore Knees, Craig Ballantyne says to make sure you get enough vitamins and calcium. Calcium supports strong bones, and many vitamins support muscle repair.

“The first thing you need to realize is that your knees are surrounded by a variety of muscles including your quadriceps and hamstrings. By strengthening these muscles, you will give better support to your knees as well as making them healthier and stronger,” says Ballantyne.

Back Strain

Here’s another one that, if persistent, you should see a doctor. Like knees, if the pain is not in the muscle but in the bone and surrounding sinew, this is not a problem that can just be massaged away.

If the muscles in your back are sore or strained, from too sedentary a lifestyle, or over-exerting the muscles, the best thing to do is stretch every day and try to strengthen the muscles. Strengthening should only be started when the pain has subsided.

A hot bath with 3 cups of Epsom salts will soothe and relieve muscles, even just a heating pad on your back for 15 minutes will loosen tight muscles. Last, and certainly not least (expensive), you can visit a certified masseuse or chiropractor for an adjustment.

The Charley Horse

The cramp that happens anywhere down the leg, even the bottom of your foot, is a Charley Horse. The muscles constrict and your leg locks into a cramp. If this is a daily occurrence try stretching in the morning before you get out of bed.

“For a Charley Horse in the calf or a cramp in the back of the thigh (hamstring), try putting your weight on the affected leg and being your knee slightly, or sit or lie down with your leg out straight and pull the top of your foot toward your head,” says WebMD.

A Pain In The Neck

Obviously if you have a pain in the neck you have more than just a pain in the neck. Something is causing this, whether you need a new pillow or a new chair at your desk, or just to get up and walk and stretch more often. Of course if the pain in the neck is a symptom of a more serious issue, please – go see a doctor.

A less serious pain in the neck can be relieved by a soak in a hot bath. Try adding lavender oil to help your body and brain relax. Lavender oil can also help you get a better sleep at night, which could also help cure your neck pain.

Calm Your Mind and Muscles

Yoga and pilates are great for relaxation and giving muscular strength and posture. Performing yoga or meditation frequently will help relieve muscle pain, and maybe even stop it from happening.

Papaya is an excellent source of anti-inflammatory enzymes – proper diet is key to healing. In fact, most of the stretches, diet, and muscle-building advice given here falls under the umbrella or “Prevention.”

Preventing an injury is really what you want to do, so stretch before exercising, meditate daily, and work hard, but slowly, at building your muscles to support your daily routine.