Sore muscles can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'minor' to 'generally fatal'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.
Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose sore muscles, we could:
Cause | Probability | Status |
---|---|---|
Muscle Pains | 96% | Confirm |
Vitamin A Toxicity | 28% | Unlikely |
Epstein-Barr Virus | 13% | Unlikely |
Lyme Disease | 0% | Ruled out |
Pulmonary Fibrosis | 0% | Ruled out |
Guillain-Barre Syndrome | 0% | Ruled out |
Gastroenteritis | 0% | Ruled out |
Fluorosis | 0% | Ruled out |
Do you feel that your muscles are sorer after heavy use than they should be? (Some muscle soreness is normal a day or two after activity to which that muscle is not accustomed.)
Possible responses:
→ Don't know→ No, they recover quickly / don't get very sore → Yes, probably slightly sorer than they should be → Yes, excessive soreness on occasion → Yes, they are always excessively sore after use |
Muscle Pains (Myalgia) also suggests the following possibilities:
Muscle pain can be due to food allergies. Such pains will disappear after elimination of the offending foods from the diet.
Gradually muscle pain is experienced in the large muscles, such as the thighs, back and shoulders. Pain in the lower back, buttocks or thighs is common, and is often the earliest symptom. Deep, aching muscle pain is common.
Flu-like illness and muscle aches are generally present in cases of malaria.
To test the effects of vitamin C in preventing muscle soreness, researchers at Western States Chiropractic College gave 3gm of vitamin C to students beginning 3 days before exposing them to the stress of exercise. The vitamin C group developed significantly less muscle soreness than did the control group. [Pain 1992;50: pp.317-21]