subject: Chiropractor Prescott Az | Muscle Tension: When To Seek Medical Treatment
[print this page] Who hasn't dealt with muscle tension? Muscles tighten up when you are nervous, stressed, or even excited. It can be anything from slight tension to full scale knots in the muscles. Since everyone will eventually experience muscle tension, it is a good idea to know how to deal with it when it comes.
Treatment for muscle tension varies greatly depending on the cause. Therefore, we will discuss different causes and their treatment.
Mild Tension Treatment -
It happens all the time: the phone rings, your boss calls you into the office, traffic is bad. Whatever the cause for your minor muscle pain, it is usually self-limiting. When the antecedent goes away, the muscles relax and you find that you are feeling like yourself again.
Sometimes the antecedent does not go away quickly. When it is a sick relative, a stressful project, or any number of life's curve balls, the tension can stick around and cause pain. If this is the case, you will want to seek some temporary treatment.
Treatment for Mild Muscle Pain includes:
"Hot Bath/ Shower
"Massage
"Over-the-counter pain medication
"Heating Pad
Treating Illness Related Tension -
One of the protective mechanisms of the body is tightening the muscles. When you are faced with an injury or illness, your body's natural instinct is to tighten the muscles to protect itself from further injury. Since, the pain has a different cause you will need to treat it differently.
The first thing you need to do is consult your doctor. You need to check with your doctor concerning any underlying illness. Since it is a protective mechanism, you will want to find the underlying cause before treating the pain.
Sometimes the pain may be a pulled or strained muscle. It could be a sign of an infection (like a bladder or kidney infection). It could be any number of things. However, the pain will not go away until you treat the underlying cause.
While treating the underlying cause of the muscle tension, your doctor could recommend any of the following treatments:
"Prescription muscle relaxants
"Anti-inflammatory medications
"Heating Pads
"Physical Therapist
"Massage
Benefits of Chiropractic Treatment -
When the muscle tension does not go away, seeking chiropractic treatment may be helpful. While many people do not connect chiropractic treatment with muscle tension, they can do more than you might think. In fact, the only thing they do not do is prescribe prescription medications.
However, a chiropractor can coordinate your treatment. Chiropractors that offer Progressive Rehab work together with a team. The team and you will work together to come up with a treatment plan that gets you pain free. Some of the things a chiropractor can offer include:
"Massage Therapy
"Spinal Manipulation
"Physical Therapy
"Nutrition Counseling
"A TENS Unit (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation)
"Same day appointments
Additional Considerations -
Everyone experiences muscle tension from time to time. However, when the muscle pain becomes intense or lasts more than a few days, you need to seek medical treatment. While most muscle tension is self-limiting, when the pain does not go away, you need to seek medical treatment.
