A sore arm muscle, in the actual, is a muscle spasm with an involuntary contraction. This condition is a painful one to endure, also making one feel irritated and frustrated with the muscle pain that has been inflicted upon due to the muscle contraction.

Muscle spasms can occur predominantly on the neck and shoulder joints, arms, calves and thighs. The hip joint too is susceptible to muscle spasms. The contraction that occurs during a muscle spasm is involuntary, where the brain sends signals to the muscle to contract. These contractions do not comply to the body's will of not contracting, however, the contraction takes place. When we exercise, we use voluntary contractions of muscles to perform work. During exercise sessions, the muscles involuntarily contract against the wishes and will of the individual. Deep breathing and relaxation exercises may help the muscle to gradually relax.

Causes of Sore Arm Muscles

Straining Arm Muscles
There are times when we are susceptible to straining the arm muscles a tad but too much. Our daily chores demand us to be much more active and efficient, keeping the current lifestyle in mind. Lifting heavy objects or running around in the house holding something very heavy, that thereby puts undue strain on the muscles and causes an uncanny shakiness of the arm muscle, and a funny tingling feeling in the arm, causes the muscle spasm.

Trauma
Sore arm muscles could be a result of a trauma or an injury that is sustained by the individual. The muscle gets affected and recovery takes time. When the muscle adversely gets affected, sustains a jerk, it curbs all the normal and usual activities that the arms muscle perform. The movements of the arm muscles are impaired due to the trauma sustained.

Workout Exertion
When you push your muscles past the point where they can quickly recover, you may be overexerting yourself and working out excessively hard. Other symptoms of over training include depression, weakened immunity, fatigue, disturbed sleep, loss of appetite and energy deficiency. When you continue to exert and exercise with this condition, you are over straining your muscles, and are also causing your immune system to go for a perpetual neglect.

Nausea
If you are unwell and are experiencing nausea and bouts of vomiting, you are susceptible to suffering from a muscle spasm. The shoulder and the arm muscles get exerted when you strain your throat muscles to excrete matter through the mouth by vomiting. This could make your arm muscles sore for a short period, and you are back on track once you feel better.

Treatment Options

• Apply moist heat to the sore arms and shoulders for around 20 minutes, to relax the muscles. Use a heating pad and place it on the affected area ensuring an adequate coverage of the painful areas.
• Use an ice pack if you want to reduce inflammation and pain. Do not apply ice directly on the skin surface for a long time. It would be preferable if you place it after covering it with a towel. Apply ice pack as and when needed, but wait two hours or more between applications.
• Rest the sore arms if movement increases the pain. If the pain is unbearable during movement, immobilize the arm with an arm sling. Some medical guidance may be needed if the pain does not improve within two to three days. Also, do not keep the shoulders and arms immobile for more than 48 hours, without professional advice. A frozen shoulder may develop as a complication of keeping the arm immobile for too long without an expert consult.
• Perform gentle head stretches and neck stretches to treat sore arms and shoulders and promote relaxation in the surrounding muscles.
• Exercise the tense shoulders gently to provide relief. One effective exercise involves rotating the arms gently. Bring the shoulders forward, circle up towards the ears, then towards them back, making a slow, clockwise motion. Repeat this exercise 5 to 6 times.
• You may also rotate the wrist in a clockwise motion and feel the pain subsiding.
• Try an oil or lotion massage to treat sore shoulder, only if the muscles and tendons are not too tender to the touch or recently inflamed. Use gentle to moderate pressure, circular and upward movements, and work from the outer shoulders towards and up the neck.
• Consider a medicated cream to treat sore arms and soothe the pain.

A sore arm can be painful, and adequate treatment is required. You may feel that sore arm muscles, for no reason, have been troubling you. In the actual, this is not so. There is always a reason behind the throbbing ache. If however, the pain escalates, it is recommended that you see a medical practitioner without much delay in order to soothe the pain and derive relief.