Muscle Injuries, Diseases, and Care

Aches and pains in your muscles are never a good sign. They are your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. If you are taking care of your muscles and you still feel tired or begin to experience aches and pains, something might actually be wrong. Below are descriptions of the symptoms of injury and disease, so if you do experience aches and pains in your muscles you will know the difference between a major problem and a minor one. There is also a brief description of specialists in muscular disorders in case you are having muscle problems.

Common Injuries

Even though you may work hard to keep your muscles healthy, injuries can still happen. You can certainly reduce your chances of getting an injury by being careful, but you can further reduce your risk if you study the best ways to perform exercises. For example, if you decide that you want to be a cyclist or a mountain biker, it is a good idea to learn the proper techniques of riding. Overuse injuries are more easily avoided if you are knowledgeable about proper form and technique.

Overuse Injuries

Overuse injuries are chronic, meaning that no single event causes them. Instead, they develop slowly from weeks, months, or even years of activity that slowly weakens or irritates the muscles, until exercise eventually becomes difficult or impossible. In many cases, overuse injuries could be avoided if people studied technique, got appropriate rest, and used proper equipment when exercising. Here are some of the most common overuse injuries.

Knee Pain

Patellofemoral syndrome refers to generalized knee pain. It is often called runner’s knee because it is common among runners. Usually, in the case of runners, the cause is improper running mechanics. For nonrunners, the cause of patellofemoral syndrome is often difficult to pinpoint.

Chondromalacia patellae refers to the wearing away of the cartilage on the back surface of the kneecap; it sounds like your knee is clicking when you move it. Once Chondromalacia patellae has occurred, the process is irreversible, so someone with this condition must avoid any activities that cause a lot of pressure on the knees. In general, it is best to consult a physician or a physical therapist if you feel any sort of pain in your knees.

Shin Splints and Compartment Syndromes

Shin splints are a common name for pain felt in the front of the calf. Something as minor as muscle imbalances or as serious as a compartment syndrome can cause shin splints. Generally, treatment for shin splints involves strengthening exercises for all of the muscles surrounding the ankle joint, as well as flexibility exercises.

Compartment syndromes are less common than shin splints, but they are also a more serious problem. They occur when the compartments between muscles, which contain blood vessels or nerves, become swollen. This causes the blood vessels to restrict, or grow smaller, leading to pain, swelling, or discomfort. In 2021, one Massachusetts teen athlete was in danger of having his leg amputated after developing compartment syndrome following an injury during a high school football game. After two emergency surgeries, he was able to successfully recover. Doctors say that overdoing sports or improper training can be triggers for compartment syndrome. Muscle-building supplements like creatine may also increase the risk in high school athletes.

Tendonitis

Tendonitis most often occurs in athletes because it usually develops from overuse of a tendon or muscle. However, it can also be a result of a direct trauma. The main symptoms of tendonitis are periodic inability to move the affected muscle and sharp, piercing pain.

Diseases of the Muscular System

Some of the diseases that can affect your muscular system cannot be prevented because they are hereditary—you are born with them—or because they are a result of aging. However, no matter what type of disease you may have, living a healthy life can often help lessen the severity of the symptoms.

Muscular Dystrophy

The word “dystrophy” comes from Latin and Greek words that mean “faulty nutrition.” When doctors first began studying muscle diseases like muscular dystrophy in the nineteenth century, they didn’t have many tools to understand disease other than their own eyes. All they knew about muscular dystrophy was that it caused people’s muscles to slowly wear away. Today, we know that muscular dystrophy is caused by the body’s inability to create certain proteins that play a role in supporting the structure of muscle fibers. Therefore, the term “muscular dystrophy” actually refers to a group of diseases that weaken and eventually destroy skeletal muscles. Both the smooth and cardiac muscles can also be affected by muscular dystrophy, but this type of the disease is very rare. When the gene responsible for the production of a protein called myostatin is defective, the body produces more muscle and less fat. Researchers are currently studying the effect of blocking this gene in animals. Drugs that inactivate this gene could lead to treatments for muscle diseases such as muscular dystrophy. There are many different types of muscular dystrophy; some cause symptoms to appear in children as young as two years old, while others don’t produce any symptoms until adulthood. However, in all cases the person affected has a defective gene. Because muscular dystrophy is a genetic disease, it cannot be caught from a person who has it, nor is it brought on by injuring oneself playing sports.

Polio

Polio, also known as poliomyelitis, is caused by a virus that attacks the central nervous system. It results in muscle pain and weakness, and in the most severe cases the patient becomes paralyzed. Because polio is the result of a virus, it does not result from sports injuries. A person must be exposed to the actual virus. In the 1950s, researchers developed a vaccine for polio, which protects people from the polio virus. So, today we are able to prevent people from getting the disease and catching it is rare.

Post-Polio Syndrome

There are more than a million polio survivors within the United States, and it is estimated that 50 percent of these people will develop post-polio syndrome (PPS). The disease occurs only in people who had polio and happens because the nerves that were damaged during the original illness have never recovered. The most common symptoms of this illness are muscle pain, fatigue, and respiratory and sleeping problems. As with polio itself, the person must have gotten polio from exposure to the virus; it cannot be contracted by engaging in physical activity such as sports.

Muscle Pain Disorders

Muscle pain disorders are very common and include conditions such as tension, stiffness, and muscular fatigue. Sometimes, these pains are the result of muscle cramps or simply the result of aging. Also, research has shown that some muscle pain is a result of the stress of daily life, caffeine, or a poor diet.

Muscle Cramps

Have you ever been at the end of a hard workout and had sharp pains in your leg combined with the inability to move it out of a flexed position? If you said yes, then it is most probably a muscle cramp that you experienced, one of the most common problems that affect muscles.

Skeletal muscle cramps during exercise happen when a muscle that is shortened is repeatedly stimulated, or used for a long period of time. The muscle becomes fatigued and doesn’t relax properly between contractions. Instead, the reflex arc—nerves in charge of carrying signals from the muscle to the central nervous system and then back again—keeps carrying signals to the muscle that tell it to stay contracted, which causes a cramp. Another reason for cramps is a low amount of electrolytes such as potassium and calcium in the body. Cold weather can also cause your muscles to cramp.

Aging

Aging is unavoidable and does take its toll on your muscles. As muscles get older, they lose their ability to perform at their best. Muscle size and strength often diminish, causing older people to be frailer and less agile. They cannot move as quickly or with the ease and grace they had when they were younger.

Muscle Trainers, Therapists, and Specialists

We have talked about how taking care of your muscles is an especially important goal. But sometimes injuries do occur. When this happens, it is important to treat the injury and return the muscle to full working capacity. You can always talk to your family physician about muscle problems. But some professionals specialize in these types of issues.

Below are some of the doctors and trained professionals you can work with if you are injured or experiencing general aches and pains. A few of them can also be contacted if you just want to ask some questions about your exercise habits to make sure you stay injury-free.

Athletic Trainer

An athletic trainer provides aid to injured athletes. Whether an athlete has a muscle cramp or is recovering from time spent in a cast, an athletic trainer is concerned with keeping athletes in their healthiest shape or returning them to health as quickly as possible. Some of an athletic trainer’s main goals are to educate athletes on the many ways they can prevent injuries when exercising and to guide an injured athlete through the process of rehabilitation—a process that will hopefully allow an athlete to make a full recovery. Your school may have an athletic trainer on staff who cares for student athletes free of charge.

Physical Therapist

Much like an athletic trainer, a physical therapist, or PT, is a trained health professional who treats people with health problems resulting from injuries, but also helps people with diseases. A physical therapist looks at joint motion, muscle strength and endurance, durability of the heart and lungs, and how well the injured person can perform daily life activities. Some of the treatments he or she might suggest include therapeutic exercise, cardiovascular endurance training, and heat treatments. A related professional is the occupational therapist, or OT, who provides training in the activities of daily living.

Massage Therapist

More and more people are becoming patients of massage therapists because they want relief from injuries or because they believe massage will help them deal with the stresses of daily life. A massage can help relieve tension, or “knots” in your muscles, increase circulation through your muscles, and, if done on a regular basis, improve your overall health. Getting a rubdown from a trained professional can also help an athlete recover from tough training and decreases chances of injury. At this time, most doctors will not recommend that you see a massage therapist, but if you ask them for their opinion most will agree that massages are beneficial to your health.

Cardiologist

A cardiologist is the kind of doctor you would see if you were having problems with your heart. Cardiac muscle is only found in the heart, so these doctors specialize in this type of muscle tissue, as well as the overall organ. You might see a cardiologist if you are experiencing an unusually rapid heartbeat, or palpitations—an irregular heartbeat that feels like a slight fluttering in your chest. Because the heart is such a complex organ, depending on what problem you are diagnosed with, treatment can range from taking better care of your heart by exercising daily to surgery.

Kinesiologist

Kinesiology is the science of studying body movement. A kinesiologist’s job is to increase the activity level and total well-being of the person he or she is treating. There are many different fields within kinesiology; a practitioner may concentrate on the respiratory system or work to resolve problems with a patient’s movement. A kinesiologist who focuses on rehabilitation would perform muscle testing to evaluate any structural, mental, or nutritional problems that you may have. An occupational kinesiologist often works for a company and deals with issues like employee fitness and the design of equipment that employees must use every day. If you have to see a kinesiologist, you should expect to be evaluated just like you would be by your family doctor. However, a kinesiologist will be looking for movement problems. If he or she finds one, the next step would be to create a rehabilitation program for you.

Orthopedic Surgeon

Orthopedics is the branch of medicine concerned with the musculoskeletal system (involving both the muscular and the skeletal systems). An orthopedic surgeon is a physician who specializes in the corrective treatment of disorders of this system.

Rheumatologist

Rheumatology is the branch of medicine that deals with diseases of inflammation and autoimmunity in the muscles or joints, such as rheumatism, arthritis, and lupus. A rheumatologist specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases.

Your Muscles: A Final Word

The muscular system is very intricate. It allows you to move through your life with ease and makes sure your body continues functioning. As you now know, the relationship between your muscles and feeling good cannot be ignored. Good nutrition and regular exercise are two ways that you can keep your muscles in good shape. Remember, the more fit you are, the less chance there is that you will ever have to deal with the diseases and injuries described here.