How to reduce Muscle Tension

The following fourteen recommendations will help you to reduce your muscle tension:

1.Diet

Eat a balanced diet with adequate calcium intake, and minimize your intake of caffeine-containing foods and beverages, such as chocolates, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and cola drinks.

Make sure you eat some fresh fruits and vegetables every day and if you’re following a vegetarian diet, make sure you have adequate protein, and take a B Complex supplement with iron, or a multivitamin with iron to make up for the vitamins and minerals you may be missing when not consuming red meat.

Eat three meals per day, even if one of them is only a small one. Avoid skipping meals. Eat your meals at leisure. Take at least 20 minutes for breakfast and 30 minutes for lunch and supper. Avoid eating on the run.

2.Rest

Aim for a minimum of 7.5 hours of sleep per night. This is 5 sleep cycles of 1.5 hours each. Take regular time off for personal time and recreational activities. Avoid skipping your holidays, especially self-employed people.

3.Exercise

You need three types of exercise: cardiovascular, stretching, and strengthening. Cardiovascular exercise is by far the most important. You need to exercise at 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate for a minimum of 10 minutes, three times per week. This will keep your heart and lungs in good shape, and supply more oxygen to your muscles in order to break down lactic acid.

Swimming, cycling, running, cross-country skiing, skating, stair-stepping, treadmill, elliptical trainer, and brisk walking are all examples of cardiovascular exercise. Choose one that you like to do, so that you will stick with it.

Regular stretching is important so that your muscles will elongate properly when you bend, and to prevent injury to your joints.

Strengthening weak muscles is also important to prevent them from being overworked in your daily activities and becoming sore.

It might even improve your appearance as well, but remember - don’t overdo it. It’s the least important of the three types of exercise to your overall health.

4. Good Posture

This helps to decrease muscle tension as well as bolster your self-esteem. There are even courses you could take in the Alexander or Mitzvah technique to improve your posture. Core strengthening techniques such as Pilates would also be helpful.

5. Regular chiropractic treatment

A regular chiropractic treatment will relieve interference in the nervous system, thus preventing excess nervous system activity which can cause muscle tension. If you are experiencing joint pain, chiropractic treatment will reduce the pain, and therefore reduce a type of muscle tension called "splinting", where the muscles tighten up around a painful joint in order to keep that painful joint from moving and causing pain.

Find out what chiropractic treatments are available.

6. Nervous system relaxation techniques

Yoga and Tai Chi are good examples of techniques that relax the nervous system. As mentioned above, chiropractic treatment will also relieve interference in the nervous system, which will help it to relax. In yoga, the stretching exercises, deep breathing, and meditation all help to relax the nervous system and therefore relax the muscles.

7. Dress warmly in cold or windy weather

This is important both indoors and out.

8.Quit smoking

You’ll feel better, and enjoy your food more. Smoking is an addiction. Get help if you need to.

9. Take up a hobby or sport

It is important to occasionally do something that is a mental diversion, and takes your mind off your worries. Sports are an excellent hobby. Not only do you get some exercise, but it is a diversion, and helps to bolster your self-esteem as well. Find a sport or hobby that you really like to do.

10. Take time for friends or volunteer activities

Friends can act as a source of emotional support. Volunteer activities are good because you get a good feeling from helping someone else, and it helps to build your self-esteem.

11. Think positive

Try to be more positive than the most negative person you meet is negative.

12. Know your limitations

Avoid putting excessive demands on yourself. This includes physical demands, mental demands, and career demands.

13. Pass on the overtime

Try to occasionally pass on the overtime. If you can’t, then try to make up for it with time off later.

14. Don’t take life too seriously

You can’t be serious all the time. Try to laugh off your anger - rent a funny video, borrow a Bill Cosby CD from the library ("Why Is There Air?" is one of my favorites), or take in a show at Yuk-Yuk’s

Reducing your muscle tension is not an easy task. There are so many factors involved that to be truly successful, you would have to follow at least half of the fourteen recommendations above. Good luck!

"There’s a lot of different ways to stretch – both right and wrong ways. I was given a lot of exercises and different techniques that were effective. I’d first be shown the stretch, then helped into the right position. I always understood how and why it was working with careful explanations of what was happening with my body."

Paul Kwatyra – University student and Varsity team swimmer

"Even for non-athletes, taking preventative measure with your health is a good way to keep problems at bay BEFORE they appear.

As for athletes, when injuries occur you can spend a LOT of time away from your sport trying to get it fixed.

If you can do something AHEAD of time to prevent that injury or problem from occurring – and taking time away from you later – then proactive measures are definitely something you should look into."

Andrew Woegerer -- University student and Varsity team swimmer

"Every month I come in with something new hurting – mainly because I train a lot and tend to injure myself here and there. I practice a martial art called Aikido and we spend a lot of time learning how to fall down and sometimes I fall badly. So I’ve received treatment on my shoulders, arms, knees, ankles, hips and back. Because of this, I keep a regular schedule of maintenance treatments. I’d go every week if my insurance would pay for it!"

Rebekah Voege – Stay at home mother with 2 children

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Patient Reviews:

"After looking over the nutritional advice I was given, I changed my diet immediately.
As a runner, you don’t want to limit yourself. Knowing when to eat – what to eat – what NOT to eat – has definitely given me an added advantage and benefited my performance."

Magda Badura – Marathon runner

"If you have any questions about nutrition, or how to train properly – you’re always given great advice. You trust it works because he’s tried it himself."
I’ve learnt how to eat properly – what foods to eat for a competition and what not to eat."

Paul Kwatyra – University student and Varsity team swimmer