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.
Muscle mechanical sensitivity.
Humans with vitamin D deficiency exhibit muscle pain in muscles at multiple locations.
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.
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.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
Good old-fashioned over-the-counter medications such as naproxen (Aleve®) or ibuprofen (Advil®, Motrin®), known as NSAIDs, relieve pain and reduce inflammation. That makes them a good choice to treat joint pain and stiffness, including arthritis, Kim says.
Magnesium contributes to flexibility and helps to prevent injury by loosening tight muscles. Without enough magnesium, muscles can't properly relax, possibly causing cramps. Low magnesium can create a buildup of lactic acid, known to cause post-workout pain and tightness.
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.
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.
Several nutritional supplements have shown promise for relieving pain, stiffness and other arthritis symptoms. Glucosamine and chondroitin, omega-3 fatty acids, SAM-e and curcumin are just some of the natural products researchers have studied for osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Glucosamine, chondroitin, omega-3, and green tea are just a few of them. Glucosamine helps keep the cartilage in joints healthy and may have an anti-inflammatory effect. Natural glucosamine levels drop as people age. Chondroitin is often used with glucosamine as an osteoarthritis treatment.
B12 deficiency affects sensory nerve function leading to motor dysfunction, which can cause muscle cramps and weakness.
Autoimmune myositis causes inflammation and weakness in the muscles (polymyositis) or in the skin and muscles (dermatomyositis). Muscle damage may cause muscle pain and muscle weakness may cause difficulty lifting the arms above the shoulders, climbing stairs, or arising from a sitting position.
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.
Time of day. In addition to sleeping posture, research shows that joint stiffness may be more severe in the morning when a person first wakes up due to a correlation between inflammation and a person's circadian clock. This is more likely in cases of joint stiffness resulting from rheumatoid arthritis.
Despite a widespread belief that little can be done about stiffness other than surgery, appropriate physical therapy can relieve and even reverse stiffness.
Regular exercise, a healthy diet, nutritional supplements, and joint injections may all help improve or increase synovial fluid and decrease joint pain and inflammation.
Olive Oil. High in monounsaturated fats and anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, olive oils are among the best-studied fats, with many known health benefits. Extra virgin olive oil, the least refined type, is pressed mechanically rather than processed with heat or chemicals that change its properties.
Tea is one of the most-studied drinks when it comes to its benefits for arthritis patients. Green, black and white teas are all rich in polyphenols – compounds from plants that have strong anti-inflammatory effects. You'll find the highest polyphenol levels in green and white teas.