If you’ve got muscles, you need home remedies for sore muscles. And we all do, right? Who hasn’t experienced the soreness and pain after a hard workout, a long day, or a game of Horse? It’s helpful to know what you should do to relieve sore muscles and get back to feeling like yourself. Check out these handy home remedies for sore muscles!
Home Remedies for Sore Muscles
Most people can easily treat their sore muscle pain by following a simple acronym you’re probably already familiar with: RICE.
- Rest
- Ice
- Compression
- Elevation
Rest is pretty self-explanatory. Rest the affected muscle or muscle group to reduce pain and inflammation. While resting, it’s a great time to apply an ice pack, which further reduces the inflammation of a strained muscle. Ice should be cycled rather than used continuously. For example, try icing the muscle for 20 minutes, and then removing the ice for an hour or two. Then ice again for another 20 minutes. Repeat three or four times per day to relieve the pain and soreness.
Compression refers to a compression bandage. Wrap the affected area snugly {but not too tight!} to lightly “compress” the muscle and provide soothing relief and support as it heals. Compression is also helpful to reduce swelling if there is any.
Elevate your feet to reduce inflammation of sore leg muscles. This is also easy to include in your rest period!
More Home Remedies for Sore Muscles
Stretching and massage is another incredibly helpful home remedy for sore muscles. Have you ever seen a foam roller? They are available in a smooth finish, or a knobby finish as pictured above, for varying degrees of self-massage of sore muscles. The knobby surface provides more of a deep tissue massage and is great for penetrating the soft tissue layer of sore muscles. You can buy one by clicking over to Amazon.
Over-the-counter pain relievers are another thing to keep in your arsenal of home remedies for sore muscles. Tylenol is great for pain, and Ibuprofen such as Motrin or Advil is perfect for reducing inflammation. Talk to your doctor if you have questions about which is better for you.