Are you noticing low energy levels? are waking up in the morning or sitting in a meeting, and boom you feel an intense, painful contraction in your neck and calf, leaving you in pain, and unable to turn your neck or limping. Suddenly you feel much older because you can’t move the way you would like to. This is a prime example of what a muscle stiffness can feel like.
Muscle stiffness is generally characterized by difficulty moving, and sometimes accompanied by cramps, pain, or weakness. Muscle stiffness can strike at any time, while walking, running, swimming, hiking, sitting, standing, relaxation, or rest and even sleeping. It is most often experienced in the leg muscles, most often in the calf, but hands, feet, toes, fingers, as well as neck, shoulders, arms, area along ribcage or spinal cord and body can also be affected. It might recur multiple times before it goes away. Muscle stiffness is common, usually last for few seconds to minutes but, it can have a significant impact on quality of life and daily routines, particularly sleep, movement, flexibility, exercise, and performance.1,2
Is a muscle cramp the same as a muscle knots or twists?
No, they are different. As much as the terms muscle cramps and muscle knots or muscle twists are often used interchangeably, but they have different characteristics that set them apart as separate conditions.
Muscle cramp symptoms include a sudden, episodic, unexpected, involuntary, painful contractions or tightening of one or more muscles resulting in a sudden onset of pain, possible bulge seen, or bump felt beneath the skin where the muscle is located. A cramping muscle may feel hard to the touch and appear visibly distorted or swollen beneath the skin. Muscle cramps range in intensity from mild to severe.1-3
You probably hear this term all the time. People are constantly saying things like, “Ouch, my neck just locked!” or “I have a huge knot in my back” or “I’m all knotted up!”. What does this mean? Muscle knots or twists are small, stiff muscle fibres that have a marble-like or hard knob or in the centre, often the size of your thumb which is known as a trigger point.. Muscle knots or twist cause intense and continuous pain, that can either pop up spontaneously (active) and even without being touched or pressed (latent).4,5
Common risk factors for muscle stiffness?
- Depletion of mineral salts, also known as electrolytes, such as magnesium, or calcium and potassium.
- Stress, straining or overusing the muscle after exercising, sports, gardening, house chores, carrying heavy objects or heavy lifting, and body weight.
- Poor blood flow or vein circulation means less water, blood, nutrients, and oxygen is delivered to your muscles and less wastes and toxins removed. Consequently, waste and toxins accumulate, which causes the marble- or bump-like feeling and pain.
- Dehydration after loss of body fluids or electrolytes from excessive sweating, urination, vomiting, and diarrhoea.
- Inactivity or low fitness levels for example elderly, office-based workers, bed-ridden, overweight, persons with functional disability or living a sedentary lifestyle.
- Poor posture which is the way your body is positioned when sleeping, standing, sitting, or bending.
- Intense heat may trigger depletion or loss of body fluids or electrolytes and dehydration.
- Use of stimulants & other diuretic agents including alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, protein, salt, and sugar.
- Taking certain medications, such as pseudoephedrine (a decongestant) diuretics (water-pills), and statins (used to lower high cholesterol levels).
Nativa Complex® CalMag can aid in reducing muscle stiffness by replenishing and nourishing your muscles with calcium, magnesium, zinc, manganese, copper, vitamin D3 and prebiotic. This tailored combination of ingredients works together to aid recovery, digestion, absorption of nutrients. All it takes is one tablet in the morning and one table in the evening (and not more!).
Research and experts suggest that fish oil and omega-3 fatty acids may play an important role in reducing muscle stiffness, pain and fatigue associated with inflammation and muscle damage.6 Nativa Complex® Omega-3 is a high dose supplement providing 1000mg of mega-3 fatty acids per softgel capsule.
References:
Mark Freedman [20 October 2023]. MSD Manual – Consumer version: Muscle Cramps. Accessed 30 November 2023. Available from https://www.msdmanuals.com/home/brain,-spinal-cord,-and-nerve-disorders/symptoms-of-brain-spinal-cord-and-nerve-disorders/muscle-cramps
MedlinePlus [Internet, 9 June 2021]. Muscle cramps Bethesda (MD): National Library of Medicine (US); Accessed 30 November 2023 Available from: https://medlineplus.gov/musclecramps.html
Michael J. Alaia and Rick Wilkerson [Internet, October 2022], Ortho Info – American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Muscle Cramps. Accessed 30 November 2023 Available from: https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/diseases–conditions/muscle-cramps
Alvarez DJ, Rockwell PG: Muscle knots: Trigger points – diagnosis and management. Am Fam Physician. 2022, 65: 653-660.
Canadian Chiropractic Association [Internet, 1 July 2022]. The Complete Guide For Muscle Knots. Accessed 30 November 2023 Available from: https://chiropractic.ca/muscle-knots/
Kyriakidou, Y., Wood, C., Ferrier, C. et al. The effect of Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation on exercise-induced muscle damage. J Int Soc Sports Nutr 18, 9 (2021). Accessed 30 November 2023 Available from: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-020-00405-1
