I’m a very stressed-out person by nature. I’ve always been a’worrier’ - I often fret over things that really cannot be helped. Because I’m so easily upset and irritated, my body is often tense, stiff like a piece of lumber. It’s frustrating, trust me! Eventually the tension becomes very painful: At that point, I walk around my house begging my family members to just kill me already.
At that point, my mother suggests one or more of the following remedies. They all work wonderfully for me but, as always, you could experience different results.
Alternate between hot and cold water. Get into the shower and turn on a nice, hot spray. After about fifteen minutes, shut off the hot water and brace yourself. Stand under the miserably cold water for about five minutes. Then go back to hot. Once again, return to five minutes of cold water. This sounds insane, yes. However, it helps loosen up your muscles. I don’t know why the hot and cold alternation does this, but it works wonderfully for me.
After you finish tormenting yourself with the shower alternations, towel off and find someone to give you a nice, relaxing massage. My mother has studied massage therapy for over two decades, and would be a licensed masseuse if she had one more college credit towards it. She often massages my shoulders to work the tension out of them: Even though she’s only working on that one part, the rest of my body eventually relaxes because of it. Massage is also great for specific areas of pain or discomfort - while it can run you upwards of seventy-five dollars per hour, one or two massages a week can prove to be beneficial to every aspect of your health from sinus problems and headaches to tension in your muscles and even depression.
Another great relief for body aches is to slide into a tub that is filled with the hottest water you can tolerate. Add your favorite bath oils or scented beads and soak for a few minutes. Remember, your body cannot sweat while it is submerged in hot water: Soaking for too long can raise your internal body temperature and make you downright miserable!
Sometimes topical ointments such as Ben-Gay, Flex-All, and Eucalyptamint help soothe aching bodies. Remember, you have to let air circulate over your body once you apply it, so no heating pads.
Oh yeah - that reminds me - heating pads can help as well. I especially like moist heating pads: They contain thin sponges that you dampen with water and insert in between the heating coils. The moist heat feels better than regular heating pads, for some reason or another.
Obviously I could go on forever about the remedies for aching bodies and sore muscles. But, for lack of space, I will leave you with the above suggestions: Hopefully one or more will be perfect for you!