If you are experiencing tight muscles around your shoulders, calves, pecs or lower back, you need to learn how to release tight muscles and resolve the tightness before it morphs into something else.
Muscle tightness is a kind of odd stiffness that many people experience after a resting period. It is like your muscles refuse to wake up and perform their activities as they are supposed to.
Before getting to how to release tight muscles, here is what causes them to be tight in the first place – so you can best avoid these things.
SHORTENING OF THE MUSCLES
Did you know your muscles have a length allowance to which they can go when fully stretched? Some repetitive activities prevent the muscles from reaching their full length.
If this goes on for a long time, the muscles and your body adapts to the new, short length.
The next time you get involved in an activity that lengthens the muscles beyond what they are used to, there will be some resistance. This resistance is what presents itself as muscle tightness.
OVERUSE
Exerting your muscles will cause them to be tight. This is even more common when you assign the wrong muscles a task that another group of muscles should do.
Wrong posture, bad movement patterns all delegate the duties meant for other muscles to a different group of muscles.
When this happens, the muscles with the wrong task will develop tightness overtime.
NO RECOVERY
It is normal to feel some extent of soreness after physical activity. Rest so that your muscles can properly recover.
If you keep working the same muscles after they have sent you the signal that they need rest, you will most likely develop perpetual tightness.
STRESS
Stress can contribute to muscle tightness in different ways. It can throw off the sleeping pattern for one.
Lack of enough sleep and rest can cause fatigue, and your under-rested muscles may become tight. Cortisol, the stress hormone, can cause the deterioration of muscle mass.
DEHYDRATION
There is a lot of emphasis on how much water you are supposed to take, and it is for a good reason. Your muscles may miss out on key nutrients when your body id dehydrated. The muscles thus have to work just as hard but not with enough nutrients to keep them going. This may result in tightness.
HOW TO RELEASE TIGHT MUSCLES
Tight muscles can be really frustrating, especially if you lead an active life. Here are some simple tips on how to release tight muscles.
1. SWIM
If you cannot exercise normally, you can get away with doing it in water. Because of the buoyancy in the water, you can work your muscles, stretch, and relax without risking extreme pain.
2. MASSAGE
If someone told you massages are only for those rare spa days are for rich people, they lied. In fact, massages should be part of your routine and should as frequent as you can.
A good massage will help activate your muscles, reduce tension by enhancing blood circulation and help the body release toxins accumulated in the muscles.
3. FOAM ROLLING
If a massage is too expensive or cannot slot it as frequently as you should in your schedule, invest in a foam roller.
The rolling motion on the areas of your body that feel tight will help you feel better. Here are the best foam roller stretches to help with tight muscles.
4. STRETCH
Do not just wait to stretch once the muscle tightness and soreness set it. Stretching should be a daily activity, and it does not even require any equipment.
Better still, you can stretch pretty much everywhere.
5. TAKE TIME TO RECOVER
You might be anxious to get back to your normal routine, but learn to slow down and respect the signals your body is sending you.
You may want to reduce the intensity and frequency of your workouts in the period that you experience tightness.
6. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Continuing to lead a sedentary lifestyle, not a brilliant way on how to relax tight muscles.
In fact, a sedentary lifestyle could be the reason your muscles feel tight because they have become short and react to any activity that seems to lengthen them.
You do not have to go straight to the hard stuff, especially not when experiencing tightness. Start with walking to get your body active again.
7. CROSS TRAIN
If you already lead an active life, then do not dwell on just one type of exercise. Switch between workouts or try out variations so that you can work different groups of muscles.
8. AVOID STRESS
While it can be hard to rid our lives of stress completely, we can respond better to the triggers and adopt other coping mechanisms. See a therapist to help you get through the tough moments of your life.
9. GET ENOUGH SLEEP
Enough sleep will get help to alleviate muscle tightness but not just that. You will wake up refreshed with more energy and in a better mood to face the day and all that comes with it.
10. TAKE ENOUGH WATER
If plain water is not cutting it, take naturally flavoured water. Water infused with fruits and herbs can help you get through the daily required ratio. You can also eat foods rich in water, like watermelons.
11. SEE A PHYSICAL THERAPIST
A physical therapist is in an even better position to take you through the specific exercises and motions your body needs to recover.
They will also help identify the underlying problems or exact cause of the problem.
12. WORK ON YOUR RANGE OF MOTION
Even if you lead a relatively active life, some muscles may become overlooked. You may also be doing some activities that shorten some of your muscles.
For instance, wearing heels may affect your calf muscles. Incorporate exercises that will increase your range of motions, such as squats and lunges.
CONCLUSION
The tips on how to release tight muscles will work better with a lot of consistency.
While you might feel the need to completely stop any physical activity when experiencing tight muscles, push yourself to at least just stretch as you wait for the wave to pass.
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