Why It Hurts When I Didn't Do Anything

​Understanding Trigger Points and Illness/Infection

Have you ever noticed muscle pain and tender spots without any obvious reason, especially when you don't have other symptoms that would make you aware of an underlying infection or disease? Surprisingly, what may seem like purely musculoskeletal pain can actually be due to an infection, even if you haven't experienced typical symptoms like fever or sore throat. Understanding why this happens can help you manage your pain more effectively.
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When you're dealing with an infection like a cold, you might notice muscle pain and tender spots, even if you haven’t done anything to strain your muscles. These painful spots are known as trigger points (TrPs), and they can appear during or after an illness due to several interconnected factors. Let's explore why this happens and what you can do about it.

How Illness Leads to Trigger Points

Inflammatory Response
Cytokine Release happens when you’re sick, your body releases substances called cytokines to fight off the infection. These cytokines can make your nerves more sensitive, leading to increased muscle pain and tension.

Local inflammation throughout your body can worsen existing muscle issues or create new areas of tension, resulting in TrPs.

Muscle Tension and Fatigue
Increased Muscle Tension while being unwell is common and often the causes of muscle tension as well as body aches, shivering, and overall discomfort is the result. This added tension can contribute to the development of TrPs.

Fatigue and weakness from illness, which can lead to poor posture and reduced physical activity. These factors strain your muscles, creating conditions that favour TrP formation.


Reduced ATP Availability
Energy Depletion results from fighting an infection and the usage of a lot of your body's energy, reducing the ATP available for muscle function. ATP is crucial for muscle relaxation, and its shortage can lead to TrPs.

Metabolic Stress arises from the stress of battling an illness that can deplete your energy reserves, causing muscles to stay contracted and promoting TrP development.


Sympathetic Nervous System Activation
Stress Response gets activated with Illness, the sympathetic nervous system, part of your body’s stress response, which increases muscle tone and tension, contributing to TrPs.

Poor Sleep and Recovery
Sleep Disruption due to infections often disrupting sleep, impairing your body’s ability to recover and repair muscle tissue effectively. Poor sleep can exacerbate muscle pain and tension, increasing the likelihood of TrP formation.

Impaired Healing from a lack of adequate rest during illness hinders muscle healing, leading to chronic tension and TrPs.

Why Trigger Points can be Random and Localised

Localised Muscle Use and Strain
Compensatory Muscle Use can occur when sick since you might change your posture or muscle use to compensate for discomfort, leading to overuse or strain in specific muscle groups and causing localised TrPs. For example, frequent coughing can overwork the neck and upper back muscles, leading to TrPs.

Nerve Sensitization from Illness can sensitise specific nerves, increasing pain perception in certain areas and leading to localised TrPs.

Metabolic and Circulatory Factors
Localised Energy Crisis where the energy demands on specific muscles might be higher due to illness-related activities, causing localised energy depletion and TrPs.

Impaired Circulation from Illness can change blood flow and circulation, making areas with already compromised circulation more prone to TrPs.


Practical Examples

• Coughing and Upper Back/Neck: Frequent coughing during a respiratory infection can strain the upper back and neck muscles, leading to TrPs.
• Lying in Bed: Prolonged bed rest can cause strain in specific areas like the lower back or shoulders.
• Postural Changes: Adjusting your posture to alleviate symptoms can lead to localised strain and TrPs, especially in muscles not used to the new posture.

Practical Implications
Infections like a cold can lead to the formation of trigger points due to a combination of systemic inflammation, increased muscle tension, fatigue, reduced energy availability, stress responses, and disrupted sleep. These factors create an environment where muscles are more prone to tension and pain, resulting in localised and seemingly random TrPs. By understanding these mechanisms, you can take preventive and therapeutic measures to manage muscle pain during illness.

Preventive Measures
To reduce muscle tension and prevent trigger points, it is essential to stay well-hydrated, get adequate rest to support muscle recovery, and engage in regular physical activity. When sick, whether very symptomatic or not, even incorporating gentle stretching and varied movements for all regions of the body can significantly help in relieving muscle tension.
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Therapeutic Approaches
Additionally, therapeutic approaches such as massage therapy are just as important as ever for alleviating muscle tension and dispelling/preventing TrP formation. Consulting a myotherapist for specialised treatment is an effective way to manage muscle pain and tension. Using pain management techniques, such as over-the-counter pain relievers, can also reduce inflammation and muscle tension.

Take action today to prioritise your muscle health by staying hydrated, getting enough rest, and incorporating regular movement into your routine. Consider therapeutic approaches like massage and myotherapy especially in order to assess that it’s not something more serious, and don't hesitate to use pain management techniques to keep muscle tension at bay.