How Do I Know If My Muscle Pain Requires a Doctor Visit?
Do you routinely experience muscle pain for a day or two following a hard workout? If so, you won't need to worry about calling on a muscle pain doctor for help in this situation.
Delayed onset muscle soreness is very common among those who work out regularly. It's a good sign since it indicates that your muscles are beginning to get stronger. You can ignore muscle pain in this instance and even continue working out right through it.
You shouldn't get into the habit of turning a blind eye to muscle pain all the time, though. There are times when you'll want to Google "muscle pain doctor near me" and find a muscle pain doctor specialist who can see you ASAP. You'll want to visit the doctor to see what they can do to help you get rid of your muscle pain.
Today, we're going to discuss some of the times when you should call the doctor to get muscle pain treatment. Read more about when you should see a doctor below.
Muscle Pain Won't Go Away
Muscle pain is a common ailment among those all across the globe. Studies have suggested that up to 85% of people have suffered from muscle pain in their backs. But not all of these people have had to go and see a back muscle pain doctor.
More often than not, muscle pain will come and go for those suffering from it. They'll have something like a sore back for a few days after moving or playing a sport and then it'll gradually start to feel a little better each day.
You shouldn't have to worry too much about muscle pain unless you're finding that it's not going away on your own. This is when you'll want to arrange to see a muscle pain doctor to see what might be going on.
In some cases, a doctor might recommend little more than rest and relaxation for you. You'll need to give your sore muscles the time they'll need to heal instead of consistently exposing them to more movements that could prevent them from making a full recovery.
In other cases, you might need to go through more advanced treatments to get your muscle pain under control. But whatever the case, you shouldn't ignore muscle pain that doesn't seem to be getting better on its own.
Muscle Pain Not Responding to OTC Medications
If you're ever experiencing muscle pain that is really bothering you, you should think about using heat and/or ice on it. Heat will help loosen your muscles up, while ice will take away any swelling and inflammation that might be going on.
You should also give thought to taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen. They should be able to do away with a lot of the muscle pain you're feeling and allow you to get back to living your life.
But you should try not to continue to take NSAIDs for too long. You should also avoid taking more NSAIDs than you're supposed to each day. If you do either of these things, it could lead to stomach ulcers and possibly even long-term liver issues.
If you get to a point where over-the-counter medications are no longer having an effect on muscle pain, it'll be a clear-cut sign that you need to speak with a muscle pain doctor. They can recommend what else you should try to kick muscle pain to the curb.
Muscle Pain Accompanied by Redness and Swelling
As we alluded to a few moments ago, you should be able to take care of any redness and swelling that might come along with muscle pain by icing your sore muscles. The ice will reduce inflammation and stop the area surrounding your muscles from swelling up in most cases.
But if redness and swelling continue to wreak havoc on you, that will be a sign that you should call the doctor and get seen soon. When you experience redness and swelling along with muscle pain, it could indicate that an infection has set in. Things could start to spiral out of control if you don't do anything about them.
Muscle Pain Scattered Throughout Your Whole Body
When you're having muscle pain, there is a good chance that it's only going to affect a specific part of your body. You will usually find that something like your shoulder will hurt the day after you spent an hour throwing a football around with a friend.
In this case, this type of muscle pain is going to go away on its own most of the time. But if you ever experience what is called systemic muscle pain, that will be a much different story.
Systemic muscle pain is a type of muscle pain that will impact almost all the muscles throughout your body. And it's often an indication that your body has been hit with an infection or some other kind of illness.
A few days of resting up might stop systemic muscle pain from taking such a big toll on you. But if it persists, you'll have no choice but to call the doctor to see what could be going on.
Muscle Pain Impacting Sleep
It's not exactly a secret that most Americans aren't getting nearly enough sleep at night. Over the years, one study after another has found that up to one-third of Americans are sleep-deprived.
Some people are sleep-deprived simply because they don't make sleeping a big enough priority. They would prefer to binge-watch TV shows and movies all night long rather than get good sleep.
But there are also people out there who struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep due to muscle pain. If you're one of these people, you should make it your mission to see a muscle pain doctor as soon as you can.
You might end up making your muscle pain even worse than it already is by attempting to contort your body into weird positions at night to sleep. You would be better off speaking with a doctor about what's causing your muscle pain and how you can treat it.
Muscle Pain Restricting Important Movements
Do you have a tough time lifting your arms up over your head to put a shirt on in the morning? Do you struggle to walk up and down the steps in your house? Or do you dread doing something as simple as picking up a fork and using it to put food into your mouth?
You should be able to perform these kinds of movements without any pain. But if you have muscles that are damaged and that aren't getting any better on their own, they might restrict the movements you can make. They'll make doing daily tasks way more difficult than they should be and affect your quality of life.
Seeing a muscle pain doctor can help you get back to performing these types of tasks without any problems. They can suggest the right treatment and have you feeling better than ever before.
Muscle Pain Along With Clicking, Snapping, or Popping Sounds
It's one thing to have muscle pain in a certain part of your body. It's another to have muscle pain that is accompanied by clicking, snapping, or popping sounds.
These sounds could all show that you have more than just regular muscle pain going on. They could also be a sign that you have tissues, ligaments, and/or entire joints that aren't working the way they're supposed to.
These sounds should provide you with all the motivation you need to call the doctor to get help. If you don't, they could lead to more serious issues down the line and force you to undergo more invasive treatments than you would have to otherwise.
You should request an appointment with a muscle pain doctor the first time you hear any clicking, snapping, or popping around your muscles. They can diagnose your condition and put you on the fast track to recovery.
Contact Us When You Need a Muscle Pain Doctor
Muscle pain is going to be a part of life for some people. If you love working out in an effort to build muscle or if you work a labor-intensive job, muscle pain will come with the territory.
But if muscle pain is something that's slowing you down in life and maybe even restricting your ability to get around with ease, you should contact a muscle pain doctor today. AZ Pain Doctors can help you find the best way to put your muscle pain problems in the past.
Reach out to us now to request an appointment.