Yes, I realize the ridiculousness of this subject line, but stay with me for a moment.
There are many things that contribute to muscle pain. Most of the time it’s a trauma to the muscle, poor body mechanics, overuse, underuse, etc. But there are also other seemingly random things that can cause the muscles to freak out.
A few overlooked causes of muscle dysfunction include chilling of the muscles (like sleeping under a ceiling fan), nutritional deficiencies, viruses, and metabolic disorders.
But the one I’m talking about today is tight clothing. Yup, you read correctly. Your tight yoga pants, socks, waistband could be contributing to all sorts of pain.
Think about it. Do you have times when you change into your PJs at the end of the day and notice indents on your skin where your clothes just were? The most common places would be mid-calf from socks, at the waist from pants or belts, and around the top of the shoulders from bras.
It’s like a kink in a garden hose. Your clothing is cutting off or significantly hindering the circulation of blood and other valuable fluids all day. Your tissues need that circulation to be healthy, and that constant hindrance from your clothes could enhance the pain in already overloaded muscles.
With my clients, I see this most commonly in the calves. Their super tight socks leave a huge dent around their mid-calf, and they wonder why they have foot pain. Coincidence? I think not.
Another is around the waist. Lower abdomen muscles contribute a lot to the health of the lower back. Belts and waistbands pinch against the lower abdomen causing issues, and this echoes into the low back.
And tight clothes, in general, can restrict circulation and be cramping the style of areas that are already fighting to heal in the body.
I’m not saying that tight clothes are the number one cause of muscle pain and wearing MC Hammer pants could be the solution to all of your woes. But like I said earlier, there are many things that contribute to muscle pain. These considerations might help you fight the good fight.
So I invite you to take a look at where your clothes could be restricting. And try switching up your wardrobe habits a bit.
I give you full on permission to change into loungewear ASAP when you come home from work.
Set your tissues up for success by setting them free and allowing them to breathe!
And save the hot pants for the weekend.