15 Causes of Myalgia that you should be aware of

Myalgia is simply known as ‘muscle pain’ and can be a symptom of many different diseases and disorders. That is to say that myalgia is not in itself a disease or condition, and also that it can be attached to a huge number of different conditions and problems.

This makes myalgia rather hard to diagnose and identify. Is this a sign of something more serious? Or is it just a bit of harmless achiness?

It’s important that you do identify the cause though, as when you do, you will be better poised to try and find out precisely what might have caused it and to, therefore, accelerate your recovery.

1. Infection

One of the most common reasons for aching muscles is infection. This could be a cold, the flu, or something much more serious such as a viral or bacterial infection.

Often, when we are getting a cold or flu, achiness is one of the things we notice earliest. This might be accompanied by some other early symptoms such as tiredness, or such as sniffling in the nose.

So why does being unwell cause muscle pain? The answer likely has to do with ‘pro-inflammatory cytokines’. These are molecules produced by the body that – as the name might suggest – encourage inflammation in the body in a bid to try and ‘drive out’ the infections that cause pain and discomfort.

These pro-inflammatory cytokines aim to make the body a less hospitable place for the bacteria, but in doing so will also cause us discomfort. In fact, most of the symptoms we associate with a range of illnesses are not caused directly by the bugs themselves – but by the body trying to get rid of them!