3 things you can try to ease muscle pain

Whether your muscle pain has been caused by a strenuous workout, a strain, by bad posture, sitting at a desk all day or by a chronic inflammatory condition such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or ankylosing spondylitis (AS) below are 3 non-invasive things that can easily give you relief without breaking the bank.

Even though in my experience people do not believe something that is free or easy could possible be the solution to a stubborn pain problem, please give everything that is not dangerous a good shot and then evaluate. I use all 3 muscle pain management options on a regular basis with great effect.

Although I have a few more tricks up my sleeve to keep my body healthy, they are part of the reason my AS has gone to sleep – no pain, no stiffness, fully functioning and enjoying life. Being well allows me to help others learn how to calm down chronic pain with my holistic personal training service in Leeds.

1) Epsom salt (Magnesium Chloride Flakes):

You can use this in your bathtub or in a foot soak. Research has shown that the Epsom salt is easily absorbed through your skin bypassing the gut which can react with loose stool when supplementing with oral magnesium.

Depending on how deficient you are, you may have to repeat this daily for a week or more to get alleviation of your symptoms. Once you feel better you can do it less often. I sometimes leave several days, I notice when my muscles are not as happy, which is an indication that I need to top up with magnesium. This usually happens when I have sweated more from exercise, which requires me to top up more often.

Benefits:

• muscle relaxation
• relief from chronic pain
• can help relax for better sleep
• can help with psoriasis, eczema, and other skin conditions
• improves digestion, it helps with wavelike muscular contractions of the intestine called peristalsis which helps alleviate constipation
• relieve symptoms of PMS
• may help with Nerve pain

These are just a few benefits, if you want to find out more I suggest you read the book: The Magnesium Miracle by Carolyn Dean.

As with most alternative treatments it is the combination that makes the difference. We need to dial in several lifestyle habits to get great results.

Because I go through quite a lot of the magnesium salt, I get a 20kg bag from Westlab, there are other place you can get it though.

2) Hydration:

image courtesy of artemisphoto, FreeDigitalPhotos.net

You may be aware that about 75% of our body is made up of water.

Have you ever noticed on days when you have been wrapped up in work and forgot to drink your mouth gets dry after a while. Maybe you were delighted that you did not have to run to the loo as often?

When we do not drink enough the blood can thicken which may causes headaches. These are symptoms that I find are early warning signs, they usually occur in that order. At that point if we do not listen to the signals sent by our body, we may start to experience muscle cramps and fatigue.

I have noticed many times that once the initial symptoms show it takes several days to a week to get the body’s hydration back to the level where it is able to function well in every system.

Initially you may need to run to the loo more often, you can help your body to use the water you drink better by adding a couple grains of sea salt to your water, the minerals help the body to hold the water in your body more easily. You shouldn’t taste the salt.

I have experienced myself that staying hydrated helps with my AS pain, muscle cramps and soreness.

Take a challenge over a week to stay on top of your hydration drinking enough each day and see if you feel better. If you don’t try you will never know…

Keep a pain/ symptom diary for that time; we often forget how bad things were once we are better.

3) Meditation:

My favourite guided meditation is Headspace.
It helped me tremendously with chronic ankylosing spondylitis pain in my thoracic spine that stopped me sleeping a full night for 2 years. After only 1-2days of 10min of the “free 10min a day for 10 days challenge” I had 90% less pain allowing me to sleep through for the 1st time in years.

If you have an aversion to mediation because so many speakers on meditation audios sound sad and depressing this one is for you, Andy Puddicombe who speaks on this series has a very positive, soothing voice. He explains how the mind does not need to be empty or free of thoughts.

Andy guides you through the process of calming your mind and you feel you can do it. There is no secret to it.
If you don’t like reading, there are brilliant visual animations to watch that explain the concepts and how you can adjust your thinking to make meditation work.

Do you have any of these issues going on?

• chronic pain
• high levels of stress that cause tension
• regular head aches
• fatigue
• depression
• insomnia, un-restful sleep

…try Headspace – it will change your life if you let it.

It is easy, does not take hours and best of all; “It is Free”!

I have recently had a client that found that Tai chi practice helped clear up his eczema. Mindfulness practices are powerful tools that anyone with chronic issues should use to their advantage.

Where to start?

I suggest starting with one of the suggestions and then adding another when you feel ready. If you overwhelm yourself with changes to do, you may end up adopting none. Choose which one you would enjoy the most and think is easiest to implement into your life.

If you are curious what other methods I use to keep myself and my holistic personal training clients in Leeds well watch this space, I will share more soon.

I’d love to hear how these things work for you, have you tried them?

Get in touch via email, I will personally respond.