3 Reasons You May Have Tight Muscles
People can develop tightness in their muscles for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes, you'll be acutely aware of muscle tightness in a specific region of your body, perhaps because it's impeding your movement or causing pain. In other cases, you might not remotely be aware of a muscle's tightness until you or someone else touches it. If you have tight muscles, it's a good idea to seek help from a licensed massage therapist. As an expert in loosening muscles to provide pain relief and improve range of motion, a massage therapist will be able to help you — regardless of how tight your muscles are. Here are three reasons that you may have tight muscles.
Stress
Feelings of stress can often cause your muscles to tighten up. While feelings of well-being can cause these muscles to relax, repeated periods of stress can make it difficult for your muscles to lose their tightness on their own. Think of how your body feels when you're stressed. You might hold your neck tense, resulting in tight neck muscles, or you may lift your shoulders and cause these muscles to be tight. If you're stressed a lot more often than you'd like, you almost certainly have tight muscles that a massage therapist will be able to help.
Injury
It's possible to develop tight muscles as a result of an injury. If you've hurt a joint in your body, the muscles around the injury will often tighten to create stability as you move. For example, if you have a knee injury, you might find that the muscles in your thighs and calves are tighter than they used to be. Sometimes, you'll notice muscle tightness soon after an injury. In the case of a minor injury that you're not initially aware of, tight muscles around a specific site could be an indicator of the injury.
Sedentary Lifestyle
A sedentary lifestyle can be harmful to your health in a number of different ways, and many people will experience muscle tightness as a result of sitting too much. For example, if you spend several hours a day sitting at a desk, you'll often get tight muscles in your hips. Stretching and exercise can loosen these muscles, but if you don't make time for these healthy activities, the muscles can get tighter and tighter. If you've noticed tight muscles in one or more areas of your body for one of the above reasons, look online to find a massage therapy professional in your area.