muscle tightness and stiffness

Muscle tightness is that tense feeling in specific muscles that can be very uncomfortable. Everyone has experienced some muscle tightness or stiffness. Psychological and physical stress can cause muscles to tense and spasm causing an achy feeling. There are many things your chiropractor can recommend to alleviate the pain associated with muscle stiffness. Stretching, exercises, relaxation and massage therapies usually work in this instance.

Try this. Flex your upper arm muscle (bicep). You’ll notice that when you do that your arm bends at the elbow and your forearm moves upward towards the chest or shoulder. This is what your muscles do and how they work. When you have a tightened muscle, it is like always flexing your bicep, on a somewhat lesser extent. Imagine you have tense muscles in your back (if you don’t already). These are connected to the spine from the neck to the pelvis. The tense muscles will pull at and contort the vertebrae of the spine resulting in pinching nerves throughout the spinal column. Since all nerves run through the spinal column any that may be pinched can cause pain or illness.



Spasms are usually the result of two muscles fighting against one another. One tense or tight muscle pulls at a weak or loose muscle. It can result in very uncomfortable twitching and pain. You can alleviate the pain by strengthening the weaker muscle; however, if proper stretching is not done this can weaken the tightened muscle. Can you see the dilemma?

We will examine all aspects of your life besides your back. We will ask questions about your family history and your daily routine as well as performing palpation and neurological tests to determine what is causing your ailment. With that information, he can prescribe a treatment program that will help alleviate the muscle tightness that bothers you. Imagine getting a prescription to go to a massage therapist. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?

Massage therapy is very helpful to relieve tension in muscles. More importantly than massage is stretching and strengthening exercises so that muscle tightness is not a continuous problem. Consult your chiropractor for specific exercises to stretch specific muscles that cause you pain. Another common “prescription” is relaxation techniques that help you alleviate the mental stress causing involuntarily tensing of certain muscles. Any of these can be helpful in relieving muscle stiffness that bothers you, so talk to your chiropractor about which will help your specific areas of need.