Is Muscle Rigidity Causing Your Muscle Pain?

Tight and rigid muscles have many causes and a variety of solutions

Muscle rigidity is very common, and it can be uncomfortable. You can have stiff and tense muscles due to various causes—such as sitting or sleeping in the wrong position, or it can be the result of a neurological disease.

You might feel like you have muscle rigidity when you can’t relax your muscles normally. This feeling can affect any muscle in your body. This article covers what you need to know about tense muscles, including how to manage them and when to see a healthcare provider about your symptoms. 

A person stretches their leg on a desk in an office to address muscle rigidity

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What Muscle Rigidity Feels Like

Muscle rigidity can sometimes cause sharp pain that makes it difficult to move. But there are many causes, and muscle rigidity can vary depending on the cause and how long it has lasted. 

Here are some ways that people often describe muscle rigidity:

  • Tension: A muscle feels tense when you press on it, but you can move it with minimal pain. 
  • Tightness: It’s difficult to move the muscle the way you want to, but you can fully move it with effort. 
  • Spasm: You experience a quick, involuntary tightening of a muscle. 
  • Spasticity: Muscles can feel tight most of the time, and you might have occasional or frequent spasms.
  • Stiffness: Often, stiff muscles are tight when you first start to move after rest but may loosen up after movement or stretching. 
  • Twitching: You feel small areas of muscle “jump,” and you might be able to see the movement. 
  • Tremors: One of your extremities (usually the arm) shakes involuntarily. 
  • Rigid: Someone else (usually a healthcare provider during a physical examination) needs to use effort to move your extremity, and you cannot move it yourself.
  • Contractures: Muscles are fixed in a tight position. You cannot voluntarily move your muscles, and a healthcare provider cannot move your muscles either. You might always feel pain, or pain can come and go.
  • Rigor: This describes rigid muscles that can develop at the time of death. 

What Causes Muscle Rigidity?

Many different medical conditions can cause muscle stiffness. Sometimes it develops gradually due to long-term medical issues, but it can happen suddenly, such as when it’s the result of an injury.

Muscle rigidity can occur due to muscle damage, nerve damage, or a disruption of neurotransmitter (chemicals that send messages between nerves and muscles) function. Each condition that may lead to muscle rigidity has a different underlying physical process that affects the muscles.

Causes of muscle stiffness include:

  • Overstretching during exercise can lead to muscle spasms, which can sometimes linger for hours or longer.
  • Sleeping or sitting in the wrong position can lead to muscle stiffness, which can usually be relieved with stretching for a few minutes. If you repeatedly spend time in a specific position, such as spending long hours at the computer or doing certain types of manual work, you may need physical therapy, medication, or other medical intervention to relieve the stiffness.
  • Lack of use, such as after an injury, can cause muscles to tighten and contract. Often getting physical therapy while recovering from an injury can prevent this. If it is not prevented, medication may be necessary.
  • Movement disorders, particularly Parkinson’s disease, can cause muscle stiffness and rigidity. This is usually accompanied with other symptoms and can be diagnosed with a physical exam due to the distinctive ways that each movement disorder affects muscle tone.
  • Multiple sclerosis (MS), an autoimmune condition damaging the coverings of nerves, can cause spasms in certain muscles. Oral (by mouth) medication that’s taken every day may be prescribed for some people who have MS-associated muscle spasms.
  • After a stroke, weakened muscles may develop contractures. This can be painful and may be treated with medication or physical therapy.
  • Cerebral palsy, a condition with nerve damage present at birth, can often cause tightness of some of the muscles. Physical therapy is often helpful as a preventive approach. Some people who have cerebral palsy may eventually need surgical intervention to treat severely contracted muscles.
  • Some medications can cause muscle spasms or dystonia (a movement disorder) as a side effect. These can include medications used to treat psychiatric conditions or nausea.
  • Stiff-person syndrome is a rare disorder that causes progressive and severe muscle stiffness that begins during adulthood.

When to Contact a Healthcare Provider

Usually, muscle stiffness from sleeping in the wrong position or from pulling a muscle will resolve with home care before you have the chance to see a healthcare provider. But if it’s painful or if it lasts for longer than a few days, you should see a provider. 

If your muscle rigidity is new and you don’t know why it’s happening, you should call a provider to make an appointment for an evaluation. 

Physical Therapy

Often, a physical therapist can diagnose and manage muscle spasms. If you have had this problem before, and you have already seen a physical therapist for it, you could consider returning to your physical therapist for treatment.

How Is Muscle Rigidity Diagnosed?

Diagnosis of muscle rigidity typically relies on medical history, physical examination, and sometimes diagnostic tests. 

Your healthcare provider will ask you how long your muscles have felt stiff, how it feels, if you experience any pain or discomfort, how often the sensation occurs, and whether you have any other symptoms.

Along with a comprehensive physical examination, you will have a neurological examination. Your provider will check your muscle strength, tone, and reflexes. Additionally, they will observe whether you have any tremors or involuntary movements, and they will observe your walking, coordination, and balance.

Sometimes diagnostic tests are part of this evaluation, depending on the likely cause. 

Some tests you might have include:

  • X-ray: If there’s concern that you may have had a bone fracture, a muscle tear, or a joint dislocation, an X-ray can often identify the area of your injury. 
  • Brain imaging: When muscle rigidity is caused by a neurological issue affecting the brain, such as a stroke or MS, a brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test can help diagnose it.
  • Spinal cord imaging: Sometimes spinal cord disease may cause muscle rigidity—this can occur with a tumor, a herniated disc, or MS. Spinal cord MRI or another visual examination of the spinal cord may help identify the problem.
  • Electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies (NCV): These diagnostic tests can assess the function of your muscles and nerves, sometimes identifying the cause of muscle rigidity or spasms.
  • Lumbar puncture: This invasive procedure involves using a needle in your lower back to take a sample of spinal fluid. It is a safe procedure, but it is not typically necessary to evaluate muscle stiffness. However, in some instances, this diagnostic test may help identify inflammation or an infection affecting the brain and spinal cord.

How Is Muscle Rigidity Treated?

Muscle rigidity is managed with exercise, physical therapy, medication, and treatment of the underlying condition. 

The treatment usually is determined based on the symptoms and the cause.

Treatments can include:

  • Massage: Sometimes, therapeutic or medical massage can help alleviate tightness of certain muscles. If you opt for it, make sure that you consult with a healthcare provider first, and be sure to seek therapy from a qualified professional who is experienced in taking care of your medical condition.
  • Physical therapy: One of the most common interventions for muscle stiffness is physical therapy. Your therapist may be able to direct you in movements that can relieve your muscle tightness, or they may use hands-on therapy to help loosen or stretch your muscles.
  • Oral (by mouth) muscle relaxants: Often, medication such as Lioresal (baclofen) or Flexeril (cyclobenzaprine) can help relax muscles. Daily medication may be necessary if you have contractures due to stroke or muscle spasms due to MS. Alternatively, your healthcare provider may prescribe muscle relaxants to use only as needed when your muscles feel tense or uncomfortable.
  • Injected muscle relaxant: When oral medications are ineffective, or when the side effects are too severe, injected muscle relaxants, or a muscle paralytic like Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA), may help relax the contracted muscles. This treatment may have beneficial effects that last for several weeks or longer, and in some cases, treatment may need to be repeated if the muscle rigidity recurs. 
  • Oral or injected pain medication: Pain can be a major feature of muscle rigidity. Oral or injected pain medication can help relieve the discomfort.
  • Surgical muscle release: In severe situations, muscles become so tight that they need to be surgically treated. This type of surgery may result in mild muscle weakness, so it is usually considered a last resort.

Home Remedies for Muscle Rigidity

Home care can be beneficial when used in conjunction with medical therapy for almost all types of muscle rigidity. Some types of muscle rigidity can improve with home care alone—even without any medical treatment.

Home care for muscle rigidity includes: 

  • Rest: Sometimes resting can help relieve muscle tightness.
  • Heat: You could consider using a heating pad in areas of tense muscles, especially if you are experiencing mild to moderate pain or discomfort. Be careful not to directly place a heating pad against your skin. You can use a towel to help protect your skin from direct heat.
  • Exercise: Often, stretching exercises can help prevent muscles from getting tight in certain positions. Exercise can also help loosen muscles that have become tight due to things like sitting or standing in a stooped posture for a long period of time.

It’s important to acknowledge that some of these tips contradict each other—for example, resting and exercise. You should seek advice from a healthcare provider, who can direct you regarding which home strategies are most likely to be helpful, depending on your specific type of muscle rigidity and what has caused it.

Summary

Muscle rigidity describes several different types of muscle tightness. Various causes and forms of muscle rigidity are among the most common reasons for muscle aches and pains. Most of the time, this is caused by minor issues, such as sore muscles after exercise or sleeping in the wrong position.

However, several medical conditions can cause muscle stiffness and rigidity, and these can be diagnosed with a physical examination. Treatment can usually relieve the symptoms. Less often, severe muscle rigidity could indicate a serious and dangerous medical condition. Rarely, muscle rigidity requires surgical treatment.

If you’re experiencing muscle tightness, stiffness, or spasms, talk to your healthcare provider to learn whether you need to rest, exercise, use a heating pad, or need a more serious treatment.

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Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
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Heidi Moawad, MD

By Heidi Moawad, MD
Heidi Moawad is a neurologist and expert in the field of brain health and neurological disorders. Dr. Moawad regularly writes and edits health and career content for medical books and publications.