Why do muscles tighten up and cause pain?
Most think that when a muscle tightens up, there is something wrong with that particular muscle, or, in other words, that muscle has been overworked. The natural inclination is to relieve the tightness with a stretch or massage.
However, it is important to understand that tightness might be the body’s necessary reaction to a mechanical imbalance. For instance, many people complain of tight hamstrings. It is important to know that the hamstring not only assists in bending the knee, but it also assists in extending the leg to the rear as well as stabilizing the pelvic area (lumbo-pelvic-hip-complex). Therefore, if there is weakness in pelvic stability or extension of the leg to the rear, the hamstring will compensate by tightening up. In such a way, the hamstring acts as a compensating muscle that does the job of other muscles. However, the hamstring is not ideal for such tasks, and therefore, it is becomes heavily taxed,causing pain and discomfort (in addition to poor joint mechanics in the area).
Another important point to remember is that muscles do not tighten up on their own as a result of physical stress. Instead, the central nervous system (the brain) dictates which muscles will tighten. Here is the most interesting point - the CNS NEVER makes a mistake. Basically, the nervous system receives information, such as the level of physical stress and the readiness of all muscles participating in the movement. It then makes a decision on the most efficient path to get the job done. Some muscles might be weak, injured, or overworked, and are therefore unlikely to be recruited to handle the stress at hand. In such cases, the CNS will recruit other compensating muscles (even if doing so causes pain).
The ability to compensate allows us to perform in less than ideal moments. For instance, you need to squat to pick up a heavy box, but you have gotten weaker over the years. Your weaker abs may be insufficient to stabilize your pelvic area, and your hamstring will tighten up to compensate for that weakness. The squat will cause you pain at the hamstring, but you will very likely be able to pick up the box.
Frequently Asked Muscle Activation Technique ™ Questions
- How many sessions are needed to see results?
- How long should I expect the results to last after a treatment?
- Why do muscles tighten up and cause pain?
- So the tight and muscles are often not the problem?