This article explores common causes of muscle pain that may result from exercise and effective ways that could relieve or help prevent it.

Common causes of muscle pain

You don’t have to be an athlete or always on the go, to experience muscle pain. It can be caused by:

  • overstretching or twisting of a muscle (strain)
  • physical activity that you’re not used to
  • an injury (muscle tear)
  • stiffness after intense or exhaustive exercise.

Injuries such as tears in the muscle may occur if you’ve overstretched or “pulled” a muscle. It may also feel like muscle pain, when tearing a ligament. However this may not be an actual muscle injury but rather a torn or twisted ligament or an overstretched or torn muscle. A common type of muscle pain is the stiffness or tenderness felt a day or so, after strenuous exercise or when you’ve done a new type of exercise. This is called delayed onset muscle soreness or DOMS.  DOMS is caused by damage to small fibres in the muscles, which may make the muscles feel painful and swollen. It’s not the same as straining a muscle during exercise, as DOMS is usually felt up to a day or so, after exercising.

Advice for relieving muscle pain

Here are some things you can do to help relieve muscle pain.

If your pain is caused by injury or overuse, try the RICE method. Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.

  • Rest the affected area.
  • Apply ice wrapped in a tea towel, to the area for 20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours for the first few days after an injury.
  • You might also try wrapping a bandage around the injury, to compress and support it.
  • Elevate the injury by keeping it raised on a pillow as much as possible.


To help relieve muscle ache and stiffness after exercise:

  • Perform gentle massage
  • Apply ice packs for the first 3 days, thereafter apply heat to improve blood flow. A warm shower or bath with Epsom salts may help.
  • Do some light stretching

You can also try pain relievers to help ease muscle pain, such as:

  • A medicated gel containing ibuprofen, which has anti-inflammatory properties.
  • Paracetamol or ibuprofen tablets or capsules, if needed.

The following Nurofen products contain ibuprofen, to help with muscle pains or strains:

  • Nurofen Joint & Muscular Pain Relief Medicated Plasters,
  • Nurofen Joint & Back pain Relief Max Strength 10% Gel
  • Nurofen 200mg Liquid Capsules

Ways to help avoid muscle pain

It’s not always possible to avoid muscle pain during or after exercise, however there are some simple things you can do to help reduce your chances of injury, strains or muscle pain:

  • Contact sports and some sports that involve sudden or repeated movements or jumping may increase your risk of muscle strain or injury. Protect yourself from injury by using appropriate equipment, protective gear and footwear.
  • Exercise regularly to keep your muscles in good condition, exercise within your capabilities and increase your exercise levels gradually.
  • Do warm up exercises before and cooling down stretches after exercise.

When to speak to a doctor

You should get immediate medical advice if you have an injury and:

  • it's very painful, or the pain is getting worse
  • the swelling or bruising is bad or it’s getting worse
  • it hurts to put weight on it, is stiff or is difficult to move
  • it's not feeling any better after treating it yourself
  • you have a very high temperature or feel hot and shivery – this could be an infection