Muscle Tightness: How it Works

Tight muscles can be frustrating, painful, and discouraging. Understanding how to manage tight muscles will help to avoid limiting movement and enable continuous exercising. There are a few reasons why muscles can become tight. Three common reasons are prolonged inactivity, during exercise and after exercise.

Periods of prolonged inactivity, for example many hours sitting at a desk, can cause muscles to tighten because of restricted movement. Sitting a desk puts your hips in a bent, or flexed position which puts the muscles at the front of the hips in a shortened position and the muscles in the back in a lengthened position. If you’re reaching forward to work on a computer, your chest muscles will be in a shortened position and your upper back muscles will be in a lengthened position. This will all cause muscle imbalances, shortened muscles will become tight and lengthened muscles will become weak. This could also lead to poor posture with forward rounded shoulders and underdeveloped glutes. To prevent tightness caused by decreased range of motion the main focus is to maintain proper posture, especially while seated. You should also focus on strengthening the muscles that have become lengthened and weak. Finally, stretch therapists emphasize that stretching the tightened muscles is very important.

Muscles also tighten during exercise, often in the form of a muscle cramp. Cramps are caused by many factors including muscle fatigue, low sodium and/or low potassium. When muscles contract, the muscle fibers are shortening which increases tension in the muscle. They then lengthen and decrease tension when the contraction is done. Muscle cramps happen the muscle fibers are unable to lengthen either because of fatigue, improper hydration or nutrition. It’s important to let the muscle to relax and recover on its own, forcing it to stretch can tear the muscle fibers. Being properly hydrated and fed as well as keeping from being overly fatigued will prevent muscle cramps while exercising. Electrolyte drinks can help when exercising for longer than 60 minutes.

Muscle soreness is when muscles tighten up post-exercise. Delayed onset muscle soreness can be felt for 24 – 72 hours as pain and stiffness. It’s usually most intense after exercises that focus on contraction where weights are being lowered or slowed. The pain and stiffness is caused by small ruptures within the muscle. These can be prevented by gradually increasing the intensity of an exercise program. Increasing blood flow to sore areas through moderate intensity exercise or massages can help.

Muscle tightness is best corrected through proper exercise, stretching and nutrition. Good posture, choice of exercises and stretches will prevent tightness.

Using Stretch Therapy can be a great way to combat muscle tightness. A trained fascial stretch therapist will help you get the most out of each stretch, and provide you with exercises that you can perform if you feel a muscle starting to tighten up. Assisted stretching also provides a structured time to work on loosening up your muscles and bodies in an environment that will ensure you are stretching safely.

Sources:

Brautigam, Viktoria. “Muscle Tightness: Why Do Muscles Tighten up?” Ace Fitness, ACE Blog, 19 May 2011, www.acefitness.org/education-and-resources/lifestyle/blog/1478/why-do-muscles-tighten-up/.

McPhillips, Kells. “How to Relieve Muscle Soreness in 5 Steps When DOMS Comes Knockin'.” Well Good, 23 July 2020, www.wellandgood.com/how-to-relieve-sore-muscles/.