How important are muscles?
Many people think of muscles as just being those lumpy things in the arms and legs that makes them move. But as is the case with all other parts of the body, the muscles are interconnected with everything. The bones do what the muscles tell them to do via tendons and ligaments, the muscles do what the nerves tell them to do, and the nerves do what the brain tells them to do. Some organs depend on muscle action as well: peristaltic action in the intestines that moves food along its path, the diaphragm below the lungs which is responsible for breathing, the walls of the arteries, and of course the heart. Anything that affects the muscles can do a lot more than just make it difficult to walk or lift things.
Two kinds of muscle
Skeletal muscle is voluntary; you can make your legs, arms, and fingers move at will. Involuntary muscle works without our conscious input; such muscle includes stomach, intestines, diaphragm, and heart. Anything that either harms or helps muscles will affect both types of muscle.
Kinds of muscle problems
Muscle problems can be grouped roughly into three categories:
- Pain
- Spasm, stiffness, and involuntary movement
- Weakness and lack of muscle stamina
Pain
Not all muscle-related pain is felt in the muscles. Toxins and electromagnetic energy can cause contraction of the meningeal system surrounding the spinal cord, which can in turn cause spinal subluxations, or misalignments. These can cause pain elsewhere in the body, such as headache and stiff neck.
Fibromyalgia pain can be felt in the muscles as well as in the bones, skin, and elsewhere. Although there isn’t an actual injury to or inflammation of the muscles, the pain is very real. Fibromyalgia is discussed in detail in the book Ending Fatigue, Pain, and Reactivity, available at CAM and through this website.
Muscle pain can come from injury, and proper support while healing can help this pain to eventually go away. Enzymes, taken orally, can help with the healing process. Pain after exercising can be due to a buildup of lactic acid, tiny tears in the muscle from overuse, dehydration, or mineral depletion.
Eliminating deep sleep, as with (ironically) sleeping medications, can cause generalized muscle pain. True recovery can only happen with deep sleep. Infection from the parasite giardia can also cause muscle aches. Spasm, discussed next, is a common cause of muscle pain.
Spasm
Muscles can tighten or move when you don’t want them to. The result is spasm, stiffness, or tremor.
Since magnesium relaxes muscles, any spastic condition of the muscles (cramps, tremors, twitches, back pain) or elsewhere in the body may be related to magnesium deficiency. Muscle stiffness has been linked to the use of silicone breast implants, as well as to other toxins and to dehydration. The trapezius muscles are those at the base of the neck, on either side in back. If these are chronically tight, hard and sore, this can be due to gallbladder problems.
A sudden cramp or spasm such as a Charley Horse in the calf or foot can be very painful. These can be caused by overexertion of calf muscles when exercising, dehydration, or deficiency of magnesium or calcium. Certain drugs such as statins for cholesterol control can have leg cramps as a side effect. Massage or stretching can help to ease this kind of cramp, but it should ease up on its own within a few (very long) minutes, sometimes leaving some residual soreness for up to a couple of days.
Muscle weakness
Muscle testing is often used to determine whether a substance is unhealthy for a person. If it is, the tested muscle goes weak. It follows that anything harmful, such as sugar, other toxins, electromagnetic energy, or something the individual is allergic or sensitive to, can cause muscle weakness. Muscle testing can help you to identify and avoid these items, and muscle strength should return.
When weight is lost, especially through starvation diets, lean muscle mass is lost along with fat and water. Loss of muscle mass translates to loss of strength. If you want to lose weight, aim to do so following a sensible diet – CAM practitioners can help = along with exercise to keep the muscles from atrophying.
Muscle weakness can be due to a number of conditions, including hypothyroidism and adrenal insufficiency. Nearly all illnesses can have muscle weakness as a component.
Muscle fatigue, which usually occurs after too much exercise, is short-lived and is your body’s way of saying it’s time to rest and not exercise for a while. The supplement octacosanol can help with stamina and endurance.
Exercise
We are designed to move. Use of the body and muscles leads to growth and repair, while underuse leads to atrophy, or withering of the muscles. Those of us who don’t exercise much or at all become less physically functional and we lose our strength and endurance over time. Exercise also helps to increase suppleness and flexibility, firm and tone muscles, and increase muscle strength and endurance. Exercise should ideally work all muscle groups: walking or running, bending, lifting, pulling, and pushing. Cardio exercise which can leave you out of breath, weight-bearing exercise, and fine muscle control exercise such as Tai Chi or yoga are all of benefit.
Other muscle support
Calcium and magnesium need to be balanced to keep muscles in optimal functioning. Manganese aids in muscle reflexes, and zinc is needed for the muscles to contract properly. Amino acids help to build and maintain muscle, and are major components of bodybuilding supplements for this reason, but they should be prescribed by a knowledgeable practitioner since it would be easy to unbalance them by self-dosing. Octacosanol and CoQ10 are supplements that can benefit muscles. Massage is the most frequently used therapy for musculoskeletal problems, and can help heal injury as well as easing pain.
