Chronic muscle pain is an epidemic without much explanation and not so great solutions. A lot of interventions seem to help the situation but mostly plateau in efficacy or just stop working all together. So where does it all come from?
Not surprising its not a very simple explanation with many variables to consider (ie. activity level, diet, habits) but lets look at one fairly known cause but break it down to better understand.
Sedentary lifestyle:
This shouldn’t be a surprise as many different experts have warned us of this being an issue. With the ubiquity of technology and “conveniences” we have slowly cut out physical movement from out lives at a steady pace over the past few decades. We don’t walk, we drive; we don’t need to climb stairs there are escalators and elevators; we don’t go outside, we stare at screens. We move far less and do it for far too long.
Unfortunately, when living is a city where majority of the work force sits at a desk and very often in front of a screen, our muscles behave in a very peculiar but predictable way. People assume that sitting is a passive activity where we’re in a state of relaxation but we all know the feeling of stiffness and pain when being static for too long. The exact reason for this is because muscles need to be engaged to keep you in any static position sitting or standing. This type of muscle engagement is called isometric contraction – the muscle is contracting but with no movement. Basically we’re doing a mild workout daily, 8 plus hours a day, 5 days a week, you can see how this adds up. Without proper intervention to offset the tension build up, over time it inevitably becomes a problem.
The solution fortunately is simple – a regimented daily stretching and rolling routine. (Difference between the two will be explained in a later entry). In addition supplement with light cardio. The question then will become which stretches to do.