To get prompt medication for a health problem, it is essential to first know about its symptoms. This article will enlighten you about symptoms of myalgia.

Myalgia means "muscle pain". It is one of the symptoms of a large number of diseases. However, it is mainly caused by injury, overuse,or overstretching of a muscle or muscle group. Muscle pain may also be due to consumption of certain drugs such as cocaine, ACE inhibitors for lowering blood pressure and statins for lowering cholesterol levels in blood. If myalgia occurs without a traumatic history, viral infection is the most probable cause. Myalgia produces various signs and symptoms to indicate its presence.

Symptoms
As mentioned earlier, there are numerous symptoms of myalgia.

• The most prominent among the myalgia symptoms is pain in the affected muscle. Some other symptoms of cervical myalgia are heaviness of the head with intermittent headaches.
• If heart muscles are under effect of myalgia, one may suffer from irregular heartbeats. He is also at a risk of cardiac arrest. The bones become more prone to fractures. Impaired vision, swallowing and hearing can also be observed.
• If respiratory muscles are affected with myalgia, the patient may experience respiratory distress. The patient can even suffer from complete loss of breathing, if the disease has taken a serious form.

These were the usual viral myalgia symptoms. Other commonly seen symptoms of myalgia include skin burns and numbness or tingling sensation in the face, arms, legs or trunk.

Causes
The main cause of myalgia are listed below for your benefit.

• Tension or stress in the affected muscle developed as a result of its injury, overuse or overstretching.
• Physical trauma such as muscle sprains or strains.
• Myalgia is a prominent symptom of a large number of diseases and disorders. Some of them are; fibromyalgia, dermatomyositis, pyomyositis, influenza, malaria, polio, leptospirosis, rat bite fever, measles, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, rheumatic fever, etc.
• Myalgia also occurs as a side effect of drugs such as hydroxychloroquine, clofibrate, chloroquine, carbenoxolone, amphotericin B, etc.

Treatment
The ideal cure is to first tackle the disease causing myalgia. If you observe the above symptoms, you should immediately visit a health care professional. Medical intervention will certainly prove to be helpful by diagnosing the disorder and treating the same.

• There are certain things that one can do at home to speed up his/her natural process of recovery. The best home remedy is to take sufficient rest.
• Use a cold or warm compress, whichever is suitable in your case, twice a day. This will bring the pain down by several degrees in a couple of day's time.
• Warm a teaspoon of mustard oil. Use this warm oil to gently massage the affected body part. Massage the affected area in a circular motion to soothe and relax the muscles.
• Consult a physical therapist to learn about the exercises that can help you recover fast from myalgia. Perform them as directed by the physical therapist to get faster relief.
• Acupuncture and aromatherapy are also said to be effective in reducing myalgia.
• As far as diet is concerned, one needs to maintain a healthy balance of both calcium and potassium. Doctors recommend consumption of fresh pomegranates in fruit or juice form as part of the daily diet. Other essential foods may include fresh vegetables, brown rice, nuts, chicken or skinless turkey and fish.

Like any other disease, myalgia needs timely medical intervention and proper care and attention by the patient to get it treated fast. If you, or someone known to you, is experiencing myalgia symptoms, use the information given in this article to improve your health.