3 Effective Remedies To Treat Sore Muscles

After doing some kind of physical effort, your muscles may feel sore. The good news is that this is an annoyance that can be improved with some very simple tips based on dietary guidelines. Through food we can carry out certain strategies that help reduce inflammation and muscle pain, especially those caused by intense effort.

Why do muscles hurt?

Sore muscles are a very common reality on a day-to-day basis. It is an ailment that usually also includes the ligaments, tendons and even joints.

The origin of sore muscles is almost always a physical overload due to excessive effort, sports activity without warming up and even bad posture.

Sometimes the tension caused by stress can cause a sustained muscle contraction that ends up affecting the muscle.

In the event that the pain is persistent and accompanied by fatigue, it is likely that we are suffering from fibromyalgia. Either way, don’t hesitate to get a proper diagnosis from your doctor. Fibromyalgia is a complex disease with complicated treatment. Although you may also need a dietary intervention, in this article we will focus on muscle pain resulting from physical exercise.

Foods to improve muscle pain

1. Blue fish and foods rich in omega 3

Oily fish are rich in omega 3 fatty acids. These have an anti-inflammatory capacity that can improve muscle pain associated with overexertion.

Not only this food group is rich in these fats. Both seeds (chia, flax, sesame …) and nuts are also excellent options to keep the omega 3 – omega 6 balance at bay and thus have inflammation under control.

Another option to consider is raw vegetable oil. However, in this case we must take special care as it is a highly caloric food that can unbalance the energy balance of our diet.

2. BCAA’s or leucine supplements

They are mainly used in periods of intense training or high sports stress. Its main function is to improve muscle recovery and reduce the sensation of pain in the days after sports competition.

Its physiological reason is that leucine is the essential amino acid with the greatest involvement in muscle building, therefore an increase in the intake of this substance will have a beneficial effect on recovery.

They are usually combined with protein supplements after sports practice in order to optimize the recovery process. In addition, this supplementation can be a protective factor against muscle injury.

3. White meat and eggs

Protein foods are a fundamental part of the athlete’s diet. Proteins are the nutrients in charge of muscle building and recovery. Therefore, a daily contribution of them is necessary to improve the symptoms associated with intense training.

At least half of the ingested proteins must be of high biological value, that is, from the animal world. Among the meat foods the most interesting are eggs and white meat, since red meat may have some waste compounds that interfere with inflammation processes.

We must choose meat pieces as clean as possible, or on the contrary, opt for post-workout whey protein supplements. A high-quality protein portion should always appear in the main meals. In addition, the daily protein intake must be completed with the consumption of legumes, cereals and nuts.

Important note on diet and muscle pain

Food can slightly improve the symptoms of muscle pain. However, the best way to prevent it is to control the training load.

Once this has appeared many times it is necessary to resort to pharmacological aids that increase the speed of the biological processes of tissue repair, as is the case with anti-inflammatory drugs. However, these must always be consumed under medical prescription.

Although diet and supplements are an important part of muscle recovery, so is the job of the physical therapist. For this reason, it is necessary to address the problem of muscle pain associated with strenuous exercise from a multidisciplinary point of view.