How Can Stiff and Tight Muscles Result in Back Pain?

Back pain causes people to limit their range of motion, thus, affecting their activities of daily living. Having back pain or neck pain isn’t welcome, especially for people who are always on the go. Some back pain is due to stiff and tight muscles. But not many people understand its mechanisms and attribute back pain to fatigue and too much work. How can stiff and tight muscles result in back pain?

Well, here is everything you need to know about back pain and stiff muscles, and how you can purchase excellent tools to reduce the aching, tight muscle.

How Can Stiff and Tight Muscles Result in Back Pain?

How can stiff and tight muscles result in back pain? This question may be common, but not many can give the answer. When it comes to back pain due to muscle issues, it is important to understand how can stiff and tight muscles result in back pain so that we can deal with it properly.

Stiff and tight muscles cause nerve constriction in the back, or in the spinal cord of the body. As nerves start to constrict, it leads to inadequate blood circulation and causes episodes of pain throughout your back area. Discomfort, spasms, and muscle cramps also happen as muscle tightness in your lower back occurs. The pain feels like a repetitive pain. Plus, you can feel how your back muscles become strained and contracted.

Tensed muscles are not really bad. As a matter of fact, it helps the body prevent further damage as it signals you to loosen up a bit. However, if you don’t listen to this warning and still continue the things you do, you might find yourself in a worse condition.

Causes of stiff and tight muscles vary. Strenuous physical activities, incorrect posture, injuries, and even dehydration may cause muscle stiffness and tightness. Knowing how stiff and tight muscles result in back pain lets you understand the things you need to avoid as well as the things you can do to prevent such occurrences.

How to Provide Back Pain Relief?

Most often, normal back pain subsides in a few hours. But if it continues for a few days, other measures might be needed to address the problem. Various types of equipment start evolving for this reason: to help alleviate muscle tension and back pain.

So how can stiff and tight muscles result in back pain get treated? Equipment such as inversion tables, reclining chairs, and back support belts have various benefits for pain and tension management.

Furthermore, research claims that massage devices can be used with pain-relieving modalities in the treatment of back pain. They help ease muscle tension and back pain as they are used within muscles in the body for trigger points. They also promote the release of endorphins for relaxation and breakage of the pain cycle. 

Understanding how stiff and tight muscles result in back pain is not enough to deal with the pain. You also need to know how to take proper measures in easing the pain so that you can get back to your daily routine without suffering from back issues.

Massage Pillows

Massage pillows may contribute to your good night’s sleep. They are designed to alleviate daily aches and pains caused by stress, tension, and poor posture. They explicitly help relieve compression or tension in both neck and back regions. Such a tool will allow you to experience massage therapy’s benefits from the comfort of your own home. 

HoMedics Shiatsu and Vibration Massage Pillow with Heat

HoMedics massage pillow is a powerful massage tool that combines heat and vibration functions to help relax your tight muscles. The vibration feature will allow the massager to reach deeper tissues, building a sense of full-body relaxation. 

Additionally, the design of this device focuses on precision to provide immediate relief. You can freely use it anywhere — in your home or office environments. The innovative massage technology nodes also move in an inward and outward motion producing a deeper and more realistic shiatsu massage.

Topical Creams

Topical creams are effective remedies when it comes to back pain. It contains active ingredients, which directly act on the pain. Topical creams become a handy remedy for people who constantly suffer from back pain. Its convenience and fast-acting relief mechanisms make topical creams the go-to remedy for most back pain.

Bengay Ultra Strength Topical Pain Relief

Bengay provides the best topical cream relief for back pain. Understanding how can stiff and tight muscles result in back pain requires you to know the different treatment modalities available. Hence, you need to familiarize yourself with Bengay as well.

This topical pain relief cream eases not only back pains, but also minor arthritic pain. It helps a lot in dealing with both muscle and joint pains. What makes Bengay ideal for pain management is the fact that it contains three ingredients for pain-relief: camphor, methyl salicylate, and menthol. All of these ingredients are known topical anesthetics.

Bengay provides a localized treatment. Since you apply it straight on the affected area, it concentrates on the pain within that area alone. The ingredients directly seep on the skin and do not travel along the bloodstream anymore. Thus, providing speedy and immediate pain relief.

Over-the-Counter Pain Medications

OTC pain medications are also popular in the treatment of back pain. Medications such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and naproxen are widely used as back pain remedies. These drugs increase the blood flow, thereby decreasing the swelling caused by muscle stiffness and tightness.

When taking OTC medications, you need to follow the proper dosage as prescribed by your doctor or written on the product package. Never take medications more than the recommended dose even if the pain lingers. If the pain does not go away despite taking OTC medications, consult your doctor. The cause of your back pain may not be muscle stiffness and tightness. Hence, proper diagnosis is needed for the appropriate treatment to be given. 

Advil Ibuprofen

Ibuprofen belongs to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs. The downside of taking ibuprofen is that kidney problems may occur, especially for long-term use. Make sure that you drink enough water to keep yourself hydrated while taking this drug. Some ibuprofen formulation also causes you to feel sleepy or drowsy. Hence, do not drive or operate heavy machinery when under medication.

Tylenol Acetaminophen

Another common drug for back pain is acetaminophen. The most famous acetaminophen brand is Tylenol. Advil and Tylenol are direct competitors of each other despite the fact that they have different mechanisms of action. Though Tylenol is easier on the digestive tract as opposed to ibuprofen, it can lead to liver damage if used constantly. It also passes into the breastmilk. So if you are breastfeeding, consult your doctor first.

Aleve Naproxen

Aleve is also a drug of choice when it comes to easing back pain. When you take Aleve, make sure that you take it with food, milk, or an antacid. Not doing so may lead to stomach upset. Also, do not lie down for at least 10-15 minutes after taking this medication. Just like Advil, this drug may lead to kidney problems and cause drowsiness. Also, consult your doctor if you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant as this drug can cause problems with the baby and the delivery.

Hot or Cold Ice Packs

Applying either hot or cold packs generally helps with muscle relaxation. First, apply heat to relax your back muscles. Then, follow up with a cold treatment like ice compress to numb the muscles. From the relaxation to constriction to numbing the pain, the inflammation is greatly reduced. It also helps the back muscles to slowly come out from its stiffness and tightness. The slow pace helps the muscles to better get hold of the transition, thus, preventing further damage.

Magic Gel Hot or Cold Ice Pack

A reusable gel pack offers a convenient approach to hot and cold therapy. This gel pack is specially-crafted to fit both upper and lower back areas where most back pains occur. It gives pain relief for the tailbone, sciatic nerve, coccyx, degenerative disc disease, and lower lumbar pains. With this amazing coverage, it is just right to include it on our list of back pain treatments.

Takeaway

So how can stiff and tight muscles result in back again? Again, it causes nerve constriction that inhibits blood flow. Thus, resulting in chronic pain in your back area.

When looking for the best pain relief remedy for muscle soreness, it’s wise to do research and invest in the best treatment for soothing the pain, and this may include physical therapy. It will not only alleviate knots and muscle spasms, but will also spare you from spending money for chiropractor or masseuse visits.

There are many treatments available for muscle strain and pain which you can use in the comforts of your home. With many back pain remedies that ease stiff and tight muscles, you only have to choose which one is most convenient for you. However, keep in mind that chronic back pain needs immediate medical attention already. So don’t hesitate to visit your physician.