Muscle tension and tightness

[Pats]

I know I asked about breathing recently. Another question - has anyone found a way to completely relax their body?

I never could dance or cheer or do sports and I think the reason is that my body is too tense, tight, stiff, whatever description you want to use. I wake up during the night with fists and arms clenched to the point they hurt. I've been to physical therapists before, after a couple neck surgeries and they're always commenting how tight my muscles are - and that's when I think I'm relaxed.

I wake up almost daily with tension headaches from neck stiffness.

I realize when I'm listening to someone and getting bothered by what I'm hearing, or anything that is making me feel uncomfortable I will notice that my shoulders are nearly touching my ears because I've scrunched up. I try to make them fall back into a normal position just to find them slowly scrunching up again. I find myself doing the same thing when I'm trying to crochet so I can't crochet too long or will get a headache. I keep trying but it has to be a conscious effort but once my mind goes back to what I'm doing, there I go again.

As far as sports, my biggest problem is 'follow through'? I never even understood the meaning until a couple years ago when I was playing pool with my son and he said I needed to follow through and he explained what it meant. I can't. I've tried to practice but, like in throwing a ball, once the ball is leaving my hand, my motion stops. Maybe that's the reason when I was a kid and trying to throw a ball, it often landed behind me. LOL I'd just laugh along with everyone else.

Dancing, forget it. And no one can guide any part of me. Someone has tried to guide my hand but my hand won't cooperate. I remember once someone trying to do a handprint and to get my hand to move the way they were trying to move it, I had to walk around and move my entire body the same direction.

Maybe I should have used the name 'Tin man/person/woman' as my profile name. lol

 

[Progster]

I don't think that there's an easy way to feel relaxed while working or talking to someone, or during an activity which causes you anxiety, at least not without taking medication, apart from being consciously aware of the need to relax your muscles and use breathing exercises. But a good, long soak in the bath tub can work miracles to relieve stress and tension.

 

[Pats]

I don't think that there's an easy way to feel relaxed while working or talking to someone, or during an activity which causes you anxiety, at least not without taking medication, apart from being consciously aware of the need to relax your muscles and use breathing exercises. But a good, long soak in the bath tub can work miracles to relieve stress and tension.

That sounds like a good solution but I've never been able to relax in water. Oh, and I do have flexeril but half a tablet knocks me out and I feel weak the entire next day.

 

[Gritches]

Yeah, prescription muscle relaxants work the best, but they do have that downside of fatigue. One thing you might try is a Magnesium supplement.

 

[LucyPurrs]

Pats have you asked your doctor if there's a lower dose of Flexeril? I use that sometimes if my muscles are cramping and agree that it sedating. I think there are other options for muscle relaxants like some of the more mild anxiolytics - I'd try and discuss with your physician.

 

[Pats]

Yeah, prescription muscle relaxants work the best, but they do have that downside of fatigue. One thing you might try is a Magnesium supplement.

I'll try that.

 

[onlything]

There's also a kind of mindfullness exercise of gradual muscle relaxation where you repeatedly make your muscles tense for a few seconds and then release the tension. Although it's no magical pill, it may enable you to realise how it feels and when exactly are your muscles in a relaxed state, as well as lower the overall tension in your body. It helped me with my anxiety and jaw clenching for example, although it seems I've never been as tense as you. Anyway, it may be worth a try. There are many short meditations like these for example on youtube if you're interested.

 

[LucyPurrs]

There's also a kind of mindfullness exercise of gradual muscle relaxation where you repeatedly make your muscles tense for a few seconds and then release the tension. Although it's no magical pill, it may enable you to realise how it feels and when exactly are your muscles in a relaxed state, as well as lower the overall tension in your body. It helped me with my anxiety and jaw clenching for example, although it seems I've never been as tense as you. Anyway, it may be worth a try. There are many short meditations like these for example on youtube if you're interested.

Good idea if she can feel a difference. It's called Progressive Relaxation if you're going to search YouTube for a video.

 

[Theta.G]

I take magnesium citrate 3x a day 150mg each time, it helps considerably.

 

[Ivana]

I know I asked about breathing recently. Another question - has anyone found a way to completely relax their body?

I never could dance or cheer or do sports and I think the reason is that my body is too tense, tight, stiff, whatever description you want to use. I wake up during the night with fists and arms clenched to the point they hurt. I've been to physical therapists before, after a couple neck surgeries and they're always commenting how tight my muscles are - and that's when I think I'm relaxed.

I wake up almost daily with tension headaches from neck stiffness.

I realize when I'm listening to someone and getting bothered by what I'm hearing, or anything that is making me feel uncomfortable I will notice that my shoulders are nearly touching my ears because I've scrunched up. I try to make them fall back into a normal position just to find them slowly scrunching up again. I find myself doing the same thing when I'm trying to crochet so I can't crochet too long or will get a headache. I keep trying but it has to be a conscious effort but once my mind goes back to what I'm doing, there I go again.

As far as sports, my biggest problem is 'follow through'? I never even understood the meaning until a couple years ago when I was playing pool with my son and he said I needed to follow through and he explained what it meant. I can't. I've tried to practice but, like in throwing a ball, once the ball is leaving my hand, my motion stops. Maybe that's the reason when I was a kid and trying to throw a ball, it often landed behind me. LOL I'd just laugh along with everyone else.

Dancing, forget it. And no one can guide any part of me. Someone has tried to guide my hand but my hand won't cooperate. I remember once someone trying to do a handprint and to get my hand to move the way they were trying to move it, I had to walk around and move my entire body the same direction.

Maybe I should have used the name 'Tin man/person/woman' as my profile name. lol

I personally have problems with dancing to. In my case I'm not able to follow a complex dance sequence and my dance does not look like a flown chance but rather just a set of robotic walking movements.
I can't emulate the feel of different dances-eg: African dance feels different then bellydance for example but I can't make any of them look right.
Also if I try to do muscle stretches I can't feel the stretches at all instead just end up with injuries like pain because I can't move my body into the way and exact form that it's meant to be moved in. E.g. if I try to do a certain stretch where you have to twist/bend your back a certain way I bend my back wrong and can't perceive the form right.
I also can't perceive different types of peoples personalities. In my case the feel of a person is not there so when I interact with people I don't pick up the social clues like ie: this person is a nice person,this person feels outgoing, this person feel sexy,this person seems like a killer or bad person etc...and I strongly believe that this ability to perceive people is the same area of the brain that also perceives different dances and they recreate them or in other words the part of the brain that is monkey see monkey do-or Mirror Neurons as they are referred to.

 

[Major Tom]

This works for me.

 

[Streetwise]

go to place in your head where you want to move, where something makes you want to move.
think of a song that makes you want to dance that's how you'll get past the barrier one thing I do is use adult colouring books try to remember what specifically does it for you.
hope this helps

 

[Pats]

This works for me.

Now I'm dizzy. lol

 

[Oleg Steptoe]

What you've described along with the breathing tightness sounds very familiar. The chronic, unconscious tensing and clenching of muscles for me is known as muscle armoring. I have the chronic tightness of the neck and shoulder muscles really bad.
I've been trying yoga practices as they incorporate all the things others here have suggested: the breathing, the mindfulness, the stretching. Plus when anxious I dissociate and I feel disconnected from my body so the yoga techniques help to ground me back in and feel settled and calmer. They all work together in a comprehensive way that seems integrated.

 

[Major Tom]

Now I'm dizzy. lol

Sorry I guess it works for some and not for others.

 

[FIVER]

I know I asked about breathing recently. Another question - has anyone found a way to completely relax their body?

I never could dance or cheer or do sports and I think the reason is that my body is too tense, tight, stiff, whatever description you want to use. I wake up during the night with fists and arms clenched to the point they hurt. I've been to physical therapists before, after a couple neck surgeries and they're always commenting how tight my muscles are - and that's when I think I'm relaxed.

I wake up almost daily with tension headaches from neck stiffness.

I realize when I'm listening to someone and getting bothered by what I'm hearing, or anything that is making me feel uncomfortable I will notice that my shoulders are nearly touching my ears because I've scrunched up. I try to make them fall back into a normal position just to find them slowly scrunching up again. I find myself doing the same thing when I'm trying to crochet so I can't crochet too long or will get a headache. I keep trying but it has to be a conscious effort but once my mind goes back to what I'm doing, there I go again.

As far as sports, my biggest problem is 'follow through'? I never even understood the meaning until a couple years ago when I was playing pool with my son and he said I needed to follow through and he explained what it meant. I can't. I've tried to practice but, like in throwing a ball, once the ball is leaving my hand, my motion stops. Maybe that's the reason when I was a kid and trying to throw a ball, it often landed behind me. LOL I'd just laugh along with everyone else.

Dancing, forget it. And no one can guide any part of me. Someone has tried to guide my hand but my hand won't cooperate. I remember once someone trying to do a handprint and to get my hand to move the way they were trying to move it, I had to walk around and move my entire body the same direction.

Maybe I should have used the name 'Tin man/person/woman' as my profile name. lol

Like you I have muscle tension from back of legs to head and arms. Having said that I have loose joint muscles. Always straining things. They say that both of these things are common in autism. As a child I was pigeon toed for many years.
I have been going off and on to a therapeutic massage therapist (which is different from a regular massage therapist).