Muscle Pain

Muscle pain, also called myalgia, is pain in any of the body's hundreds of muscles that are attached to bones and help the body move and function. Muscle pain is common, can be mild or very painful, and can develop almost anywhere in the body. Muscle pain is most often related to activity that the body is not used to doing; it often occurs when a person is very active on a weekend after being inactive during the week. It is normal to have some muscle pain after a workout, playing sports or even cleaning house, especially if the activity works different muscles in the body that are unaccustomed to much movement.

Muscles become sore because of tiny injuries, or tears, called microdamage in the muscle fibers and connective tissue. Muscle pain often goes away in a few days, but sometimes it can linger. Some muscle pain is systemic, which means the pain is felt throughout most of the body. That type of pain is usually due to infection, illness, or a medication side effect.