Misconceptions about muscle and joint pain: Strength training for fighting pain
The message here is: Muscles not only need to be strengthened but also relaxed.
Strong, healthy muscles that are smooth and elastic, not hard and rigid, are more resistant than untrained muscles. However, exclusively strengthening them is not the answer.
Our muscles should be strong enough to withstand the stresses of everyday life, but …
… In most cases your muscles and joints are painful due to excessive muscle tension and the resulting pulling conditions on the joints, tendons and ligaments.
To combat this pain with strength training alone is like fighting fire with fire.
Why should you increase the tension of an aching structure, if this is/was the decisive factor for the pain?
Apart from that, it leads to no results or only unsatisfactory ones in most cases. Plus, it makes no sense.
A healthy dose, and foresight is the way to reach the goal.
And the goal here is the normalization of the muscle tension and the elimination of trigger points, while strengthening the muscles.
The normalization of the muscle tension can be achieved by training your nervous system, which is the control station for your muscle tension.
This nervous system training is shown here on Painotopia in the form of self-massage.
Please note:
If you lead an inactive lifestyle, then toning your muscles will play a very important role.
Muscle training is definitely recommended, since strong and healthy muscles are more resistant than weak muscles.
In any case, you should always supplement your muscle training with self-massages and stretching in order to keep your body supple.