Body aches can result from tiredness or exercise and commonly occur with infections such as the flu. But, they can also be a symptom of an underlying condition, such as fibromylagia, arthritis, or lupus.
Fibromyalgia is a condition that causes pain in muscles and soft tissues all over the body. It is an ongoing (chronic) condition. It can affect your neck, shoulders, back, chest, hips, buttocks, arms, and legs. The pain may be worse in the morning and evening.
If you have body aches but no fever, it's likely that muscle overuse is to blame. You can avoid muscle aches by gradually increasing the intensity of your workouts. Stretching before and after exercise and drinking plenty of water is also helpful. You may need to rest or have reduced activity for 1 to 2 days.
A lack of physical activity is harmful to your musculoskeletal system in the long run as your muscles start to stiffen and weaken. Sitting for prolonged periods can also lead to poor posture and neck and back pain, and it can even worsen chronic pain symptoms.
The main symptoms of fibromyalgia are: Chronic, widespread pain throughout the body or at multiple sites. Pain is often felt in the arms, legs, head, chest, abdomen, back, and buttocks. People often describe it as aching, burning, or throbbing.
Fibromyalgia causes bodywide pain and extreme tiredness. It can be confused with arthritis because it may cause pain in joints, muscles and soft tissues. But doctors consider fibromyalgia a pain disorder. It's not life-threatening, but the symptoms can affect many aspects of daily life, including sleep and memory.
Fatigue significantly affects the quality of life for people with many forms of arthritis-related diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, spondyloarthritis, lupus, fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis.
Common ones include lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Autoimmune diseases can affect many types of tissues and nearly any organ in your body. They may cause a variety of symptoms including pain, tiredness (fatigue), rashes, nausea, headaches, dizziness and more.
If your body often aches upon waking, there are a variety of possible causes, including your mattress, sleeping position, weight, sleep disorders, and underlying health conditions. Multiple reasons are most likely to blame.
Myositis is an autoimmune disease involving chronic inflammation that leads to the weakening of muscles over time, particularly those in the neck, shoulders, hips and back. It may be painful, too.
Possible causes include injuries, viruses, overuse, and arthritis. Medication, stretching, and other approaches can often help manage it. It can have several underlying causes, it is more common in older people, and women tend to develop it more frequently than men.
Diagnosis of Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is diagnosed based primarily on having pain all over the body, along with other symptoms. Currently, there are no specific laboratory or imaging tests for fibromyalgia.
Only your physician can diagnose you with fibromyalgia and then treat you.
Aches and pains in our bones, joints, and muscles may be caused by everyday wear and tear, overuse, or aging. This pain can also be the result of injury or illness.
Lupus can cause inflammation in your joints, making them painful, stiff, swollen, tender, and warm. Often you may wake up stiff, and that stiffness will gradually ease up as the day passes.
Arthritis usually causes stiffness pain and fatigue. The severity varies from person to person and even from day to day. In some people only a few joints are affected and the impact may be small. In other people the entire body system may be affected.
Polymyalgia rheumatica is a common condition that causes pain and stiffness in older adults. Symptoms include severe muscle aches and stiffness, unexplained weight loss and fatigue.
Without movement or exercise, the muscles are weakened and deprived of a steady supply of blood, oxygen and nutrients. This, in turn, can lead to muscle pain.
A creatine kinase (CK) test measures the amount of creatine kinase in your blood. Elevated CK levels may indicate skeletal muscle, heart or brain damage or degeneration — either chronic (long-term) or acute (short-term). Other names for a creatine kinase test include: CK total.
Use heat to relax your muscles
Heat can loosen muscles and provide relief from body aches. If you don't have a severe fever, a warm bath or shower can be relaxing. But avoid making the temperature too hot — keep the water just above lukewarm to maintain your body temperature.
Morning stiffness is a symptom of several types of arthritis, including osteoarthritis (OA), the common type many people get as they age. It's also a warning sign of inflammatory types of arthritis such as: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) Psoriatic arthritis (PsA)
Many cases of tiredness are due to stress, not enough sleep, poor diet and other lifestyle factors. Try these self-help tips to restore your energy levels. If you feel you're suffering from fatigue, which is an overwhelming tiredness that isn't relieved by rest and sleep, you may have an underlying medical condition.