Last week, I had my monthly massage with Ruth. I love going to see her because (a) she's become a friend; (b) massages (for the most part) feel really good; and (c) I get a chance to analyze what's happening with my body when she hits a pressure point or finds a muscle that's really tight. This month, I asked Ruth to pay attention to my legs. "My hamstring muscles have been really tight as of late," I told her during our pre-massage discussion. "They haven't been cramping, but they feel like they are thinking about it."
So why would they have been tightening up? Ruth's guess was that these muscles were reacting to the extra mile that I've added to my daily walk with my dog. And - surprisingly - she found that my calf muscles were much tighter than my hamstrings.
So what is muscle stiffness? "Muscle stiffness is [the] feeling of tension and contraction in the muscles, that may limit normal range of motion,"HealthLine.comreported. This stiffness may be due to periods of vigorous use (i.e., athletic events, physical labor or weight lifting) or from stiffness caused by inactivity. Muscles that are found to be firm or rigid during an examination may be caused by spasms induced by overuse, injury, bleeding into the muscle, infection, extreme heat or cold, or a reaction to a bite or sting. HealthLine.com suggested rest, massage and gentle application of cold or heat to deal with muscle stiffness due to exercise. The website also suggests stretching and toning in order to maintain muscle flexibility and to limit stiffness. Additional recommendations include regular exercise, warm baths and massage therapy.
Livestrong.com's Becky Sheetz-Runkle注意that the stiffness can continue for several days following a workout, or can even happen by the afternoon if you exercise in the morning. "Stiffness is one result of delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and is caused by tiny tears that occur in the muscle fibers during exercise," she reported. Taking 2,000 mg of vitamin C and 400 international units of vitamin E can combat muscle stiffness. In addition, Livestrong.com's Anna Cocke also建议the following: omega-3 fatty acids since they are anti-inflammatories; glucosamine/chondroitin sulfate, another anti-inflammatory that also repairs connective tissue; and vitamin D.
我的按摩治疗也有人认为我的身体可能需要更多的电解质，其中影响身体，血液酸度和肌肉功能的水量。身体失去的电解质，当出汗，但是当你喝饮料替换它们。常见的电解质，根据MedlinePlus(which is a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine), include calcium, chloride, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium and sodium. You can find these in foods and beverages you consume.
I'm trying to incorporate all of this information into my daily "to do" list, but sometimes my muscles like to rebel. Last night, for instance, I woke up with a muscle cramp in my calf. So what are these and what should you do about them?
MedlinePlusreports that cramps are sudden, involuntary contractions or spasms that often occur after exercise or at night. The cramps can last a few seconds to several minutes. Muscle cramps can be caused by straining or overusing a muscle, dehydration, insufficient minerals in the body, lack of blood in the muscles, malfunctioning nerves, or a spinal cord injury or pinched nerve in the neck or back.
TheMayo Clinic建议通过饮用大量的液体，每天，它可以帮助肌肉正常运行，并保持肌肉的水合处理抽筋。如果你运动，在活动期间定期及时补充体液，继续喝水或其他液体活动完成时。
And if the cramps get too bad at night?人民药房reports that the strange home remedy of putting a bar of soap in the bed between the mattress and the bottom sheet seems to work for many people. No one quite knows why this seems to help, but many swear by it.
Primary Sources for This Sharepost:
Cocke, A. (2011).Supplements for muscle soreness & stiffness.Livestrong.com
琼斯，J. C.（2007）。Muscle stiffness.Healthline.com
Mayo Clinic. (2010).Muscle cramp.
MedlinePlus. (2011).Electrolytes.
MedlinePlus. (N.D.).Fluid and electrolyte balance.
MedlinePlus. (N.D.).Muscle cramps.
Sheetz-Runkle, B. (2009).Vitamins for muscle stiffness.Livestrong.com
人民药房. (2005).Soap under the sheets for RLS, leg cramps.