A deficiency in magnesium is most likely to cause muscle stiffness because this nutrient is needed to keep muscles flexible and moving efficiently, as well as relaxed.
It's simply because magnesium is responsible for muscle relaxation, and low levels of this mineral can prevent it from functioning correctly. The thing is, without much magnesium, your muscles may contract too much and cause symptoms such as cramps, muscle spasms/stiffness, pain and tightness.
Magnesium. Magnesium plays a major role in the tissue and muscle health in any part of your body. While calcium helps generate contractions in the muscles, magnesium is in charge of helping muscles relax after said contractions.
Vitamin D deficiency can cause muscle aches, weakness, and bone pain in people of all ages. Muscle spasms (tetany) may be the first sign of rickets in infants. They are caused by a low calcium level.
Causes of common stiffness include exercise soreness, “muscle knots,” overuse injuries, arthritis and “inflammaging,” inflammation (from chronic infection, autoimmune disease), by mild widespread pain (fibromyalgia), anxiety disorder, and medication side effects.
Most commonly, muscle stiffness can be treated at home by resting the stiff muscle, applying heat and cold, stretching, and massaging the muscle. More extensive treatments may include physical therapy and medications, depending upon the underlying condition.
Muscle stiffness typically occurs after exercise, hard physical work, or lifting weights. You may also feel stiffness after periods of inactivity, like when you get out of bed in the morning or get out of a chair after sitting for a long time. Sprains and strains are the most common reasons for muscle stiffness.
As you age, joint movement becomes stiffer and less flexible because the amount of lubricating fluid inside your joints decreases and the cartilage becomes thinner. Ligaments also tend to shorten and lose some flexibility, making joints feel stiff.
B12 deficiency affects sensory nerve function leading to motor dysfunction, which can cause muscle cramps and weakness.
Magnesium is essential for proper muscle function and acts to relieve tight, sore and cramped muscles. It controls muscle contraction and acts as a muscle relaxant. It can therefore be vital in the treatment of back pain and cramps by relaxing back muscles, kidney stress and muscular tension.
If you require a supplement, dosage recommendations can vary depending on your needs, such as to improve constipation, sleep, muscle cramps, or depression. Most studies found positive effects with daily doses of 125–600 mg of elemental magnesium.
Scientists have discovered that we wake up stiff and achy because our body's natural ibuprofen has not kicked in yet. As day darkens into night, the circadian clocks in joint tissue suppress inflammation and also the body's production of anti-inflammatory proteins, our natural pain-dampeners.
Sometimes stiffness is due to an intense workout or new activity that your body is getting used to. Other times, stiffness can result from poor posture. There are several ways to prevent and treat feeling stiff, no matter the cause, including frequent movement, posture corrections, stretches, and home remedies.
Perhaps the best and most natural way to relax your muscles is to rest. Make sure to get lots of sleep, drink plenty of fluids, and try not to overwork the affected muscle. Using heat pads or ice packs on the muscle can provide immediate relief.
Therefore, magnesium supplements can be taken at any time of the day, as long as you're able to take them consistently. For some, taking supplements first thing in the morning may be easiest, while others may find that taking them with dinner or just before bed works well for them.
Magnesium begins to take effect after one week of consistent supplementation.
Magnesium supplements should be taken with meals. Taking magnesium supplements on an empty stomach may cause diarrhea.
You can test your magnesium levels by purchasing a simple at-home finger prick test kit which is then analysed at an accredited lab. Forth offers a number of blood tests which include magnesium such as our Nutri-check test and Menopause Health blood test.
One of the implications of low levels of magnesium is muscle fatigue, muscle pain, spasms and cramps, and tension headaches.
Refining or processing of food may deplete magnesium content by nearly 85%. Furthermore, cooking, especially boiling of magnesium-rich foods, will result in significant loss of magnesium. The processing and cooking of food may therefore explain the apparently high prevalence of low magnesium intake in many populations.